Tournament of Mysteries
by potat lasaro
Summary: When Ash and the gang overhear news about a tournament hosted in Kalos' number one tourist attraction they just couldn't ignore it. Deciding to compete in the tournament, they'll run into old friends, new rivals and be swept up in an ancient feud all while trying to win. And not to mention a certain girl is trying to win over the love of her life during all of this. Amourshipping
1. A Welcomed Surprise!

**Hey, what's this? It's a second story I plan to work on while also continuing my other story "Champions and Crushes". Don't worry, that one is being worked on at the same pace as this and they will both be finished.**

 **Now, just a few details about this story. Once again, it is going to be an Amourshipping story, but this time it's going to be set a while back. This story takes place shortly after XYZ 17 (Noivern's evolution) and splits off from canon from that point on. Now then, let's get onto the fun part.**

 **Ch 1: A Welcomed Surprise!**

* * *

"Hey, did you hear about the tournament being held in Dubayy City?"

Those simple words spoken between two passing trainers was all it took to catch Ash's attention. Dropping his fork, the young trainer made his way over to his two fellow trainers before they could leave the Pokemon Center they were all staying at for the day.

"Did one of you mention a tournament?" He asked while walking up to the two trainers. One could just see the excitement in his face from those simple words and he was hoping to have not misheard them.

"Yeah, I did," one of the two trainers replied as he handed over a flier he had found. "It's to help promote a new tourist attraction in Dubayy City. They're hosting an open invitation tournament for all who are interested. I've heard only the best trainers are showing up for this."

"Did you hear that, Pikachu! A tournament filled with the best trainers around! We just have to go and compete," the raven haired trainer told his best friend as they looked over the flier. Thanking the duo Ash made his way back to his friends, hardly able to hold in his excitement.

"What was that all about?" Clemont asked as he started to clean their table off. They still had a long way to go if they planned on making it to Gloire City for Serena's Master Class competition.

"Some place called Dubayy City is hosting a tournament for anyone to come and compete in. It sounds so awesome," Ash explained as he handed over the flier.

Everything that he had explained was on the flier, although there wasn't much information to begin with. All the flier told them was that a tournament was being held in Dubayy City in exactly one week.

"Dubayy City, why does that sound familiar?" Serena muttered as she stared at the flier. She couldn't remember exactly, but something about the city reminded Serena of something from her past. Pulling out her travel guide, Serena searched the city to see why it was familiar.

"Of course! Dubayy City is Kalos' number one tourist attraction. It's actually a city built in the middle of a desert."

"Why would anyone travel to a desert for fun? Sounds like a waste of time," Bonnie joined in as she looked at the travel guide.

"But, the city isn't in the desert. You see, they built a huge city filled with anything imaginable being there. Shopping districts that run for miles, the region's best restaurants and even a Pokémon battling arena home to some of the most intense matches ever seen. It even says here that they have a new museum exhibit opening up about the history of the city."

"Wow, Serena, you seem to know quite a bit about Dubayy City," Clemont responded as he looked at some of the pictures of the city. Serena had been right about everything as the city appeared to be encased in a glass dome, preventing the harsh weather of the desert from affecting the city.

"Well, I may have gone there as a little kid," she answered sheepishly before playing with her ribbon a little. "You see, before my mom retired from Rhyhorn Racing she had a race out there. Of course, I was too young to remember any of it but from the pictures my mom took it was beautiful."

"I wish I could go and see it..." Bonnie muttered as everyone took a turn to look at the pictures of the beautiful city. "There must be so many cute Pokémon living there."

"Well, why don't we all go then?" Ash asked as he stood up from his seat.

"From what your map is showing, Serena, we have to head that way anyways. Instead of taking the left at the fork, we'll go right and arrive at Dubayy City. It might throw us off a little for reaching the Master Class though."

"That's alright," Serena said as she put Dubayy City in as their current destination. "It could be a good chance to relax a little before the Master Class. Plus, I might get some inspiration for a performance from your battles." Of course, she also had another idea about stopping there.

For Serena, she hoped that being in a city as beautiful as Dubayy would allow her to finally confess to Ash all of her feelings she had stored up. How she wished to just tell him how much she liked... no, loved him. At first it had just been a small schoolgirl crush from when he saved her when they were younger, but after traveling with him for so long, that crush had blossomed into full on love for the raven haired trainer.

"Oh, come on, Serena, you have to join in the fun and compete," Bonnie nudged the Pokémon Performer as she tried to convince her. "How many chances do you have to enter a tournament being hosted in Kalos' number one tourist attraction.

"I... I don't know about that Bonnie. I'm not exactly the best battler. What if I mess up and one of my Pokémon get hurt? I would feel awful if that happened."

"But it won't happen," Ash answered truthfully as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The feel of it alone made Serena stop worrying about messing up. "As long as you have fun and give it your all then nothing will go wrong. So, what do you say?"

Serena just stared at Ash and his brown eyes, sometimes she could just get lost from staring at them. But she knew better than to do that right now. Shaking her head to clear her mind, the honey blonde performer opened her mouth to finally answer.

"I guess I'll give the tournament a chance. Like you said, it could be a fun time. Plus, it'll be something different that I might be able to apply to my performances for the Master Class."

"That's the spirit, Serena! How about you, Clemont?" Ash asked excitedly as he slung his arm over the inventor's shoulders. "Are you entering as well?"

"Actually, I was planning on entering this tournament. I decided that it could be a good chance to see just how far I've come since going on this journey. When I left with you, Ash, I promised myself to grow as not only a trainer but as a person as well. And what better chance to test myself out than here."

"Alright, Clemont!" Bonnie hollered as Dedenne and Squishy popped out of her bag to join in. "Next stop Dubayy City!"

"But not until we clean up everything," Clemont continued as he took another plate off of the table. "And besides, I think it would be best if we waited until tomorrow to head off. It should be getting dark out real soon."

"That's fine by me," Ash stated proudly as he took his own dishes off of the table. "This way I'll have some extra time to train for the tournament!" Reaching for his four Poké Balls, Ash opened them all up as his four other teammates appeared before him.

"Alright everyone, we have a tournament coming up. I figured it could be a good chance to get some extra training in before our next gym! Plus, it'll allow Noivern to compete in live battles!"

Ash's Pokémon all reacted in the same manner as he had upon hearing of the tournament; joy. Raising their hands and wings into the air from excitement, Ash's group of his five Pokémon and himself made their way over to a practice field.

"Are you excited for the tournament, Serena?" Clemont asked as the duo made their way over to a sink with the group's dishes. "I certainly am. My heart is racing at the thought of all the competitors that'll be there."

Serena just let out a nervous chuckle as she noticed Bonnie make her way towards them with the last of the dishes. "I guess I'm just a little bit nervous. Unlike you or Ash, this'll be my very first time battling in an official battle. Sure there were the times we battle Team Rocket, but those aren't the same as being in a stadium with thousands of people watching you."

"Trust me when I say this, but out of all of us, you should be the least worried about performing in front of people. You literally go on stage and perform in front of the entire Kalos Region. Just do as Ash said and give it your all. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Clemont, that really helped," Serena said as she finished drying off a plate. Meanwhile, the blond inventor had taken a leave of absence to go and pack up their supplies. He was hoping to make for an easy departure in the morning so that they could arrive early to Dubayy City.

Serena now worked alone in the kitchen as she cleaned the last of the dishes... Or at least she thought she was alone.

"So, are you going to kiss him when you win?"

Jumping at the question as her face turned bright red, Serena looked around for the source of the question. The voice had appeared from nowhere, but Serena still knew who it had belonged to. Looking around the kitchen area, the Performer found Bonnie standing behind a counter and watching her.

"And what is that supposed to mean, Bonnie?" Serena asked as she put her hands on her waist. It was no secret for some about her crush on Ash, but Serena had hoped that her friends she traveled with hadn't caught on yet.

"When you win... Are you going to kiss Ash silly," Bonnie said as she sat up on a nearby stool. The young child swung her legs back and forth as a smirk crossed her face upon seeing Serena blush intensely.

"You know you want to. And it would be the perfect chance to tell him everything. Picture this: You just won the final match against him, he's coming to congratulate you on a great battle and just how far you've come as a trainer compared to where you were when we all began this journey. Then in the moment you just let it all fly out, telling him 'Ash, I've loved you for quite a while now!' before kissing him in front of everyone."

"W-what!" Serena stammered as she tried to control herself. This girl could sometimes be too much to handle. "D-don't be silly, Bonnie. I wouldn't kiss him in front of everyone."

"But you were thinking of kissing him there. You never denied that part."

She had Serena now, and based on the grin that Bonnie had Serena knew that her own facial expressions had given herself away. Sighing before pulling a stool next to her, Serena looked the girl in the eyes.

"Yes, Bonnie. I've thought about confessing everything I've felt towards Ash. But, I don't know how to. What if he isn't interested in being more than friends. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good friendship over this."

"I knew it!" The young girl shouted as she jumped out of her seat. "I've had a feeling for the longest time that you've had some sort of feelings towards him, but I needed to hear it from you first. But now that I know, I can help you out."

"Bonnie! I already told you, I'll tell him when I think it's right!" Serena stammered again. There was no way she was letting a young girl, even one who was quite the romantic like Bonnie, help her confess to her love. "Right now I just want to worry about the tournament."

"Uh huh..." Bonnie merely muttered as she made her way to the kitchen exit. "Just don't come running to me for help if someone else swoops him up first!" She playfully teased before running out the door, leaving a blushing Serena behind.

* * *

"I thought ahead and packed everyone premade sandwiches and placed them in our backpacks," Clemont stated the next morning. They had all gone to bed fairly early to make for an early awakening and had gotten ready at a neck breaking speed. "This way we won't have to stop on the way there."

"Alright! Thanks a lot, Clemont!" Ash cried out while pumping a fist in the air. He couldn't wait to get going and reach Dubayy City. "So, Serena, how long do you think it'll take to get there?"

Serena however wasn't listening as she was instead off in her own mind, thinking about what Bonnie had said last night. _"Don't come running to me for help if someone else swoops him up first!"_ Those words continued to play through her head as she pictured Ash with different women. She had heard about some of Ash's past companions and figured they may have had something for him as well. And then there was Miette, the self-proclaimed "love rival". It was no secret that tensions flared up whenever she was around. All Serena could now picture was the blue haired Performer with her hands wrapped all over Ash like at Monsieur Pierre's dance party. How she wouldn't give anything to have the chance to dance with Ash again...

"Serena? Serena are you alright?"

Ash's words finally broke through to Serena as she snapped out of her little fantasy of Miette and Ash. Blushing a little from the sudden realization that she had went off into her own fantasy land, Serena quickly looked at Ash.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," she answered while pulling out her travel guide. Opening up the maps function, Serena looked at the route they would be taking. "It should take us about three to four days to reach there if we don't stop to set up camp until nightfall."

"Let's get going then! Dubayy City won't get any closer if we just stand around!" Ash stated happily as he made his way out of the Center, Clemont behind him. Bonnie then trailed behind her brother as Serena brought up the rear.

"Thinking about Ash and Miette? They did look cute together at the dance party," Bonnie teased again. She wasn't enjoying being this harsh, but after seeing Serena's disappointment at the party she had to try and do something to help her get over her shyness for confessing.

"No I was not, Bonnie!" Serena lied as she turned her head away, hoping that the young child didn't see her worried expression. "If you must so happen to know, I was wondering what to do for a performance at the Master Class. And besides, it didn't seem like they even enjoyed themselves there."

"Keep telling yourself that..." Bonnie muttered as she sprinted up to the front of the line.

Serena just gulped as the image of Miette and Ash dancing played through her head once more. Although her thoughts were different than what actually happened, all she could picture was Ash and Miette dancing perfectly. Pushing those thoughts as far away from her as she could, Serena then picked up her pace as to make sure she didn't fall behind anymore.

The rest of the trip had been rather uneventful. From the average day of continuous hiking through the route to the routine sleep they all enjoyed at night before repeating the same actions the next day. Upon waking up on the fourth day and reaching the edge of the mountain ridge they had been hiking on, the group came to a surprise. Miles away from the mountain ridge sat a desert and in it appeared to be a city.

"It's so pretty!" Bonnie practically screamed as everyone's attention had been grabbed by the sight of a rather large town encased in what looked to be a glass dome. Skyscrapers filled the entire dome as the images of cars bustling down the streets could be seen from miles away.

"That must be Dubayy City," Clemont finally spoke as the literal oasis in the desert stopped capturing their attention. "It looks just as the images did."

"Yeah! And you know what that means!" Ash stated as he broke into a sprint for the city. "We're going to compete in that tournament!"

"Ash! Wait up!" Serena cried out as the others followed behind him. Even if it was a short distance for all of them, the thought of crossing a desert by yourself was still crazy.

As each member of the group stepped off of the mountain ridge, they all noticed that the cool breeze they had been traveling with was now gone and instead was replaced by the blazing sun. Feeling the intensity of the sun, Serena couldn't help but use her hat as a fan of sorts to cool herself down while they made the trek. While Clemont even got to the point of unzipping his jumpsuit just a bit.

After what felt like forever, the group of four finally made it to the entrance to the city and entered the glass dome. If they thought it had looked beautiful before, their original thoughts were destroyed.

The buildings that lined the streets looked to be made from only the best of supplies as they shined in the desert sun and gave off a majestic feel to them. Even the sidewalks appeared to be made from the same supplies as they matched the same stone that some of the buildings had used. Elsewhere, a large stream flowed through the city and one could only imagine where it ended.

People were bustling up and down the sidewalks, bags in their arms and the smells of delicacies filling their noses. Everyone appeared to be in some sort of rush as they all walked around the group as they looked awestruck by the city.

But, what really caught everyone's attention was the sight of the largest building right in the center of the city. It appeared to tower every other building in the entire city by a good fifteen feet and by its base was what appeared to be a circular dome.

"I wonder what that is?" Ash asked as he stared at the building with intense interest. He had never seen something like it before, but it also looked familiar to him.

"Why, son, that's the one and only Battle Resort," a nearby merchant said as he waved the gang over to his little shop. "It's the only hotel in the entire world to also house live tournaments in the dome right next to it. There's actually going to be a tournament starting in it tomorrow. Registration ends tonight." Hearing this reminded Ash of why the building had seemed familiar. He had seen a picture of it in Serena's travel guide before they left for the city.

"That's exactly why we came here," Clemont mentioned to the man as he pulled out the flier for the tournament. "We all decided to enter the tournament for a fun time and see how far we've progressed on our journey.

"Wonderful idea, youngster!" the merchant said as he sold a little trinket to another child. "This tournament is sounding like it'll be the best one yet. I've heard they're adding in a surprise twist to this one."

"Pardon me," Serena said as she interrupted the merchant's conversation. "But how do we actually get to the Battle Resort. The roads look to be kind of crazy." She wasn't lying either. The sidewalks appeared to veer off in all different directions as they led you to the different portions of the town.

"Why, just follow the river!" The merchant exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "Legend has it that they built the Battle Resort right in a spot where the river can flow to from any spot of the city. In fact, if you ever get lost just follow the river back to hotel and you'll be all set."

"Thank you so much for your help, sir," Clemont thanked the man for the entire group as they then made their way down the river and towards the Battle Resort.

"Those kids are in for one heck of a surprise," the merchant continued as he took off his work attire. "That should be enough for today. Time to get the committee together for tonight's opening."

* * *

Rushing through the streets, Ash was the first of the group to reach the Battle Resort and noticed a short line outside of the stadium, obviously for registration for tomorrow's tournament. Waiting for his friends to catch up before making his way over, Ash took a closer look at the stadium and resort. The stadium appeared to be in the shape of a Poké Ball but was all white in color. The resort meanwhile appeared to be all glass with the exception of smoothed stone lining the edges around the glass windows. Looking up at the top of the resort, Ash could make out what appeared to be a field on the top of it, or at least he thought so.

Looking around the area, Ash noticed that the resort had also been built right in the center of the major districts. Or they had built them all around the hotel, he wasn't exactly sure. Tourists packed the area as the sight of packed stores and the smells of delicious foods filled Ash's senses. During their stay here, they would have to be careful since it appeared easy to get separated due to the crowds.

But there was one thing he was sure about and that was the sight of his friends meeting him at the entrance. As they all caught up to Ash, the group made their way over to the registration table which was now lineless.

"Hello, welcome to the Battle Resort," the attendant said to the group as she pulled out what appeared to be registration forms. "Are any of you interested in competing in tomorrow's competition. It'll span exactly one week in time, but the experience will never be forgotten."

"All three of us are planning on competing," Ash answered truthfully as the lady handed everyone except Bonnie a clipboard with a registration form attached to it.

"Very well, you'll just have to fill out that form for us. Just include your name, hometown, and any Pokémon you plan on using. You can register a total of twelve for the battles.

" _That's alright. I'll be using just my Kalos team,"_ Ash thought as he wrote down all of his information. Finishing up, he double and then triple checked his writing to make sure everything was correct. There was no reason to be disqualified due to incorrect information.

"Thank you, Ash Ketchum. You are now officially registered for the tournament," the attendant stated as she typed everything over into her computer. Handing over a packet and a numbered card, the attendant started to speak once more. "Here is all the information you need for the tournament. Also, that numbered card is highly important and it is vital that you don't lose it no matter what."

Ash nodded in agreement as he looked it over. All the card had written on it was a number 11 on it. Ash thought it was odd, but placed the card into his pocket for safe keeping. Looking over at his friends, Ash waited as they finished filling out their information.

"Alright, Serena of Vaniville Town, you're officially registered for tomorrow's competition. As I told the others, do not lose this card at all," the attendant said as she handed over a card with the number 7 on it along with a packet.

Turning around from the booth, Serena noticed that Ash and the others were sitting near a fountain that they hadn't noticed before. The river appeared to flow off into a manmade lake of sorts that housed a golden Magikarp fountain in the center and then normal Magikarp fountains lined the outside of the lake. Making her way over to them, Serena couldn't help but feel excited for her very first tournament. All of her feelings of worry and anxiety were now gone as she was now overly excited.

"Are you all set, Serena?" Ash asked as the Performer sat down next to him. Seeing her nod at his question, Ash couldn't help but smile. He was glad to be competing, but knowing that his friends were going to compete as well made it even better. "We better see what the packet was about then."

"Yeah, I was wondering what they were for," Serena agreed as the three of them all opened their packets. Looking inside, the trio found folders that were filled with papers that talked all about the tournament. It actually appeared to be a little bit overwhelming at first.

"Look at all the papers," Clemont muttered as he looked through each and every one of them with precision. "They appear to cover the rules of the tournament. I think it might be a good idea to read them over before we do anything else."

"That sounds like a good idea," Serena agreed as she looked through her papers as well. One rule that really stuck out to her was the fact that every battle would be one-on-one meaning that it would be much harder for her than she thought.

The group spent the next hour reading through all of the rules as they tried to comprehend them. Some it appeared to be leaving information out by not describing everything in full details while others were just plain strange.

"Why do you think we need to head to the stadium for seven tonight?" Ash asked as he put his papers away. There was only so much reading he could do in one day and he had reached his limit. "It seems very strange since the tournament doesn't begin until tomorrow."

"I don't know. Perhaps they want to go over something important about the tournament," Clemont responded as he too packed up his papers. "Maybe some kind of sportsmanlike conduct agreement or just a welcoming speech to everyone."

Serena was the only one still reading the rules as some of them appeared to be interesting to her. In fact, one rule that caught her eye had been an imposed time limit of thirty minutes where if a winner hadn't been decided by the end, one would be chosen by the judges. Another stated that in the event of a draw, both trainers will send out one Pokémon each and the first to land a hit will be deemed the winner.

Noticing the others getting ready to receive their hotel room, Serena packed the rest of her papers away and stood up. She could always read the rest later tonight following whatever was happening at seven in the stadium.

Making their way across the street and towards the hotel, Serena couldn't help but feel like someone was watching her every move right now. Of course, she couldn't have been more right as at that moment a familiar trio of friends appeared. Standing before her was a large boy in a Vanillite T-shirt with black hair. Another boy in a green vest and white undershirt with orange hair. And finally a female in a pink shirt with brown hair.

"I assumed you would be here, Ash," the largest of them stated as he did a little spin move before stopping in front of the trainer. "As soon as I heard of this tournament I figured it would be good to train for the League."

"Tierno!" Ash cried out once the larger boy stopped talking. "And Trevor and Shauna! Are you all competing here?"

"Yeah, between getting ready for the League and meeting all new Pokémon there was no way I'd miss this," Trevor explained as he took a picture of the hotel. "You wouldn't believe all of the rare Pokémon I've met already."

"And I'm here hoping to gain some new ideas for performances. The Master Class is right around the corner you know," Shauna stated happily as she looked at Serena. "And I will be walking away as Kalos Queen."

"We'll see about that," Serena stated as she returned the stare. "But first we have this tournament which I plan on winning."

"So, Ash, did you already collect your eight badges?" Tierno asked as the group of now seven made their way into the Battle Resort. "Trevs and myself each just earned our eighth badge each."

Ash chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well you see, I still only have seven badges. We were heading to Snowbelle City, but when the Master Class was announced I had postponed my gym battle until after it so that Serena could focus on it."

Tierno folded his arms over his chest and nodded as if he understood exactly. "I see. Well, I know that you'll have it in no time."

The gang then entered the resort to be shocked by a new sight, that of the trainers all competing. Looking around, Ash tried to see if he could make any of them out, but the lobby was too crowded to see anything. Instead, the group made their way over to the front desk and retrieved their room keys. After being handed one room for Tierno, Trevor and Shauna and another for Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie, the two groups made their way down the hallway.

"I guess this is where we go our separate ways," Shauna said as they reached the elevator to their rooms. Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna had been put on the 16th floor while Ash and the others were on the 20th. Getting into their separate elevators, the two groups bid farewell for the time being.

* * *

"Clemont, do you think we have time to go look around?" Bonnie asked impatiently. She had remained quiet during the time they had registered and gotten their room keys, but was now bored beyond relief. "I want to go and see the hotel a little. I read they had an indoor pool plus a five-star restaurant! We have to explore the entire place before leaving!"

"Bonnie, relax a little. Remember why we came here in the first place, to compete in the tournament. But, we'll visit as much as we can and I guess we have some time to spare for right now," Clemont answered as he looked at the clock. It was only 5:30 and they didn't need to be at the stadium for another ninety minutes. Truthfully, he too wanted to explore the area a little. "Ash, Serena, do you two want to come along?"

"Sure!" Ash shot up immediately. He was never one to just sit around in one place and he had been growing restless. The hotel room was nice, but there was only so much you could do in one room. "We can head right to the stadium from wherever we go."

"That's a great idea," Serena responded as she grabbed her hat and placed it atop her head. She too was starting to get a little stir crazy and getting outside of their room would be a good idea. Grabbing their stuff, everyone made their way to the room exit and rode the elevator back to the lobby.

Upon stepping out, Ash and the others were met with quite the surprise as this time they noticed familiar faces unlike before. Off to the side of the front desk looked to be Alain who was talking to a blonde haired girl who appeared familiar to the gang.

"Hey, Alain, and the Mega Absol trainer," Ash finally stated as Alain noticed Ash standing there. The older trainer acknowledged him with a simple nod while not breaking the conversation he was having with the girl. The Mega Absol trainer, likewise, acknowledged Ash and the group with a friendly hand wave and a smile which the group returned.

But Ash wasn't the only one to notice familiar faces. Although she wasn't known as herself right now, Serena could see through her fellow Performer's disguise. "Ariana is here," she muttered, pointing over to a girl with pink hair and glasses sitting in a lounge area.

"The person who helped you with your performances?" Ash asked as he noticed the girl as well. She didn't seem to notice them at all and continued on with reading her newspaper.

"Come on, enough with these guys, let's go explore!" Bonnie cried out as she ran right through Ash and Clemont, pushing them off to the side. Luckily Clemont caught his balance but Ash wasn't as lucky.

Falling to the side, Ash bumped into a man dressed in slightly ripped blue jeans, a loose gray T-shirt and who had short brown hair. The man appeared to be roughly Ash's height, but looked to be extremely pale in skin tone.

"Watch it," the man hissed out as he shoved Ash off of him. The guy didn't even wait for an apology or anything, instead just making his way out of the lobby.

"Ughh," Ash muttered as he held his head. He now had a slight headache from the confrontation and everything seemed to be spinning a little. "What was his problem?" He asked no one in particular as he sat there.

"Personally I'd stay away from him," a female voice said as Ash noticed the Mega Absol trainer extending a hand to him. "The name's Astrid. I don't think I ever told you it the last time we battled. But, from what I've heard from others is that he's extremely strong. Not someone you want to get involved with."

"Astrid was it?" Ash asked as the female nodded in approval. "Thanks for helping me up. But if that guy is really as strong as everyone says, then I hope to face him."

"But not before we get another battle," Alain stated as he stayed in his same spot. "I came to this tournament in hopes of facing all kinds of Mega Evolution Pokémon, but facing you is an added bonus. Your Greninja intrigues me quite a bit, Ash."

"Well, this time our battle won't end the same way! Greninja and I have been training real hard!"

"I hope you're right."

"Ash, are you alright?" Serena asked as she walked over to him. Seeing that he was talking to Alain and the other lady, Serena quickly apologized and explained how Clemont took Bonnie outside so that she wouldn't cause any more problems.

Noticing the time, both Alain and Astrid knew they had to get ready for whatever was planned for tonight. And so, the duo both excused themselves and went on their way. Ash however still didn't seem right and Serena seemed nervous about it.

"Ash, are you sure you're alright?" She asked while helping him over to chair to sit down. He hadn't seemed like himself at all since bumping into whoever that guy was. "You don't seem like yourself."

"Yeah..." He panted out. He even seemed to be at a loss of breath right now. "Just tired. I think I had the air knocked out of me. I'll be fine in a little." Yet what Ash wasn't telling Serena or anyone was the strange sensation that had overcome his entire body once he made contact with the man. As soon as his body collided with him, Ash had felt as though all of his strength was gone. He had no clue what had happened, but it wasn't worth scaring everyone.

"Well maybe I can help," a voice Serena did not want to hear anytime soon could be heard. Turning around, Serena saw none other than her blue haired rival. Not only was she a rival in Showcases, but for the boy right next to her as well.

* * *

 **Well, I hope the first chapter turned out well. Like I said before, this story is an Amourshipping fic, but that doesn't mean I can't include moments for my 2** **nd** **favorite ship. In case you didn't tell, I've recently grown to enjoy Poffleshipping even if there isn't anything to it. Just the scenes of the two together during the dance episode did it for me even though Ash didn't appear to have a fun time he still laughed off his misfortune and agreed without a second thought of going with Miette.**

 **So, what exactly is going to happen at this tournament? We have friends, rivals and even some strange guy here. Well, you'll have to wait. Some people might question what Alain is doing is, but it'll be shown later on. (I say this a lot. Don't I?) And, I don't know if anyone caught it, but Dubayy City is a mix between the actual Dubai and a desert city. As the story progresses the city will be explored more than it was in this chapter**

 **Also, the fact with Ash feeling tired will be addressed later on in the story when everything gets moving. Right now I was getting introductions out of the way. Hopefully you'll all enjoy the tournament as I've got a few twists set up for it. (Or at least I think they're twists).**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and how I can improve the story.**


	2. Prepare for Battle!

**Welcome back everyone. Last time, Ash and the gang heard about a tournament happening in a city and decided to go and compete at the tournament. After meeting up with some old friends and rivals, Ash had a run in with a strange man and isn't feeling well now.**

 **One thing I would just like to point out. Despite the similarity from the original chapter, outside of a tournament structure and Zinnia this story will not be a ripoff of Epicocity's Love in the Time of Teamwork story. I would never think to ever ripoff anyone's work! And hopefully this chapter helps to show it...**

 **Anyways, this wasn't supposed to go up until next week, but I felt it should go up now...**

 **Ch 2: Prepare for Battle!**

* * *

"Ash, are you sure you're alright?" She asked while helping him over to chair to sit down. He hadn't seemed like himself at all since bumping into whoever that guy was. "You don't seem like yourself."

"Yeah..." He panted out. He even seemed to be at a loss of breath right now. "Just tired. I think I had the air knocked out of me. I'll be fine in a little." Yet what Ash wasn't telling Serena or anyone was the strange sensation that had overcome his entire body once he made contact with the man. As soon as his body collided with him, Ash had felt as though all of his strength was gone. He had no clue what had happened, but it wasn't worth scaring everyone.

"I wish I knew what happened to you," Serena said as she felt for a fever, but Ash was as cool as could be. "You don't have a fever and other than being tired you seem perfectly fine. I wish I could just make you better."

"Well maybe I can help," a voice Serena did not want to hear anytime soon could be heard. Turning around, Serena saw none other than her blue haired rival. Not only was she a rival in Showcases, but for the boy right next to her as well. Making her way over to the chair, Miette placed both her hands onto Ash's left hand and gripped it tightly. "I'll make sure you feel better for tonight."

"M-Miette! What are you doing here!" Serena managed to say through a shocked expression. Seeing Shauna here was one thing, but running into Miette as well was odd. She didn't battle. And to make matters worse, she was practically on top of Ash right now while holding his hand!

"Don't sound so excited," Miette teased as she let go of Ash's hand and led Serena down a hallway. Once they were far enough away from Ash, Miette started to speak. "I was in the area heading to the Master Class when I heard about the tournament. I then decided to stop by and gain an inspiration for my performances. Then I saw Ash and remembered our other rivalry," Miette stated as a small smirk crossed her face.

"Just remember who danced with Ash last time."

"That's because Eevee needed Bunnelby as her partner!" Serena practically yelled. She had been hoping to dance with Ash, but knew she had to go with Clemont for Eevee's sake and then when she finally had a chance with Ash the dancing ended.

"Those are just details, it wasn't like you were actually going to ask him," Miette continued on as Serena's face turned to a light shade of pink. "Like I thought, so it only made sense for me to go with him."

Serena managed to get her blushing under control before speaking again. Now with a normal heartbeat, Serena had a smirk cross her face. "It didn't seem like you two were having much fun at the dance party though."

"Well, dancing isn't exactly Ash's thing and I learned that the hard way," Miette answered truthfully as a smirk now crossed her face. "Of course, he does enjoy Pokémon battles and food."

"And besides, there's quite a bit to do around here that'll capture Ash's attention. Perhaps by the end we'll have a victor in our competition."

"Maybe we will," Serena agreed as the duo smirked at each other. "But I won't let you beat me."

"Who are you talking about?" Ash asked as he come up behind them. To their surprise, Ash appeared to be perfectly fine now despite being too weak to get up off the ground by himself a few minutes ago.

"No one!" Serena practically shouted as Miette watched in amusement that Serena was freaking out. Calming down, Serena realized that she needed to keep Miette from getting to her every day of this tournament otherwise it would be horrible for her.

"Ash, how exactly are you standing?" Serena asked as she moved closer to him, making sure that he didn't appear to be weak at all. "Just a few minutes ago you could barely stand."

"I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like all my strength just returned to me a few minutes after feeling drained. I feel as good as new now, Serena. It's kind of strange though, it felt like all of my strength left me only to return after a short while."

"Well it only makes sense that you could get well so soon," Miette teased as she moved closer to Ash. Winking at the boy, the Performer continued on with her statement. "You are quite determined. I don't think anything could keep you down for long."

"Well, I wouldn't say anything," Ash replied as he rubbed the back of his head. There were a few times he thought he was done for, but luckily he had made it out of the situation. "Why don't we head to the stadium? Whatever is happening will be starting soon."

The young trainer then went to turn to continue on towards the exit, but found himself losing his balance due to his earlier loss of energy. About to stumble forward, Ash felt himself be held up by someone's arm wrapped around his chest.

"Take it easy there, Ash," Miette stated as she helped the boy from falling forward. Moving her arm from around his chest and wrapping it around Ash's arm, Miette started to lead him out of the lobby. "Let me help you, even if you feel better you did just have a strange loss of energy. You shouldn't rush into things."

"Hahaha," Ash nervously laughed as he rubbed the back of his head out of embarrassment. He kind of had a tendency to rush into situations. "I can't help it though. I'm just so excited for this tournament to begin!"

"I know exactly how you're feeling. This tournament is going to be filled with powerful trainers to make for great battles," Miette said before turning her head towards Serena. Knowing this would be fun, the blue haired Performer winked at her rival as the duo left the lobby with Serena following behind her.

"I won't lose to her!" Serena practically yelled through grit teeth. She knew Miette always messed with her and if she was going to survive the week she was going to have to stay calm. On her way out of the lobby, Serena passed by a girl who looked a few years older than her. Not thinking about it, Serena just ran right by her unaware that they had been watched the entire time.

"So, that was the Ash Ketchum," the female said as she watched the three trainers through the window. She had what appeared to be a tan colored cloak tied around her shoulders and was also wearing a black sleeveless shirt underneath it along with tan cargo shorts and open toed boots.

"Quite the interesting trainer indeed. Perhaps we might have some use for him after all."

"I don't see why you're interested in the boy, Zinnia," an older looking man stated. He appeared to tower over Zinnia and was dressed in what appeared to be ancient robes tied together by an obi around his waist. Black facial hair covered his face as his sideburns met his chin and formed a beard. On the top of his head appeared to be a headband that looked similar to his robes.

"Looks can be deceiving, Jinga," Zinnia replied as the trio she had been watching left her view. "Although he doesn't look special, that boy has been through some extraordinary adventures. And, look how he responded to having his energy drained by Qawi."

"He responded in the same fashion that all those who have their energy drained do. He became weak and unable to support himself. Such is the case with all who come in contact with Zebidi's men."

"You're looking at it wrong, Jinga. You're not looking at the bigger picture," Zinnia explained as she smiled at the thought. "What would take a normal person hours to recover took him mere minutes."

"But, master! Even the most skilled trainers of the Draconid Clan cannot recover that fast! Are you telling me that a mere boy is stronger than our ancestors!?"

"Now is not the time to argue which is stronger. The world has changed over the years and trainers have become stronger than our ancestors ever imagined. It is but our job to make sure everything goes according to plan."

"Now, we must leave for the event will be starting soon."

Jinga just stood there shocked. How could the current leader of the Draconid Clan believe that one boy could be stronger than the clan whose history spans back to the time of the Great Kalos War? Following his master, the elder man followed behind Zinnia as they left the resort.

" _Just what has this Ketchum done to impress Zinnia? A mere boy could not harness the same amount of strength that us Draconid do, it wouldn't make any sense."_

* * *

"So, Ash, Serena how are you two? It's been quite a while since we last saw each other at Monsieur Pierre's dance party." The blue haired Performer asked as they reached the inside of the stadium.

Everywhere around them were camera crews recording the incoming trainers, some being stopped for interviews about their hopes for the tournament and what plans they have to try and win.

Now feeling much better, Ash was able to walk on his own without help from Miette. Stretching his body out, Ash turned to face the girl. "I'm doing great! My Pokémon and I are getting ready for our final Gym Badge and then we'll qualify for the Kalos League!"

"That's wonderful to hear. Maybe I'll stop by and cheer you on in person. I'd love to watch your battles. Of course, only if I have time after winning the Master Class."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Miette," Serena interrupted as she walked right next to her rival. "I also won three Princess Keys and I plan on winning."

The duo were about to continue on with their competitive conversation when they were joined by Clemont and Bonnie, the duo having entered the stadium at that very moment.

"Hello, Miette, it's been a while since we last saw you." Clemont began as he adjusted his glasses following his hectic entrance with Bonnie. "Are you by chance entering as well?"

"Yes I am, and I plan on winning the entire tournament. Just because Showcases don't include battling doesn't mean I won't give it my all."

"That's the spirit. As long as we all give it our best shot that's all that matters."

Serena however felt as if Miette wasn't actually talking about the tournament but rather about their other competition. Looking around the hall, Serena's gaze landed on Bonnie who was smirking at Serena with a look that said 'I warned you'.

Gulping, Serena averted her gaze from the younger girl and looked around the hall to see who else was still out here. At first she spotted that girl from before, Astrid she could have sworn was her name, finishing up an interview with one of the crews. Then, over towards her right she saw that man from before giving an interview rather loudly.

"You can write it down right now folks!" The man from before cried out into the microphone. Unlike before, he was now joined by a rather buff looking man who was dressed in a sleeveless blue shirt and black shorts. His skin was just as pale as if not paler than his acquaintance, but what really stood out was how his veins popped out of his body.

"I, Qawi, the strongest trainer around will be declared the winner of this tournament! It won't matter who I face, everyone will fall before my awesome strength! All these pretenders showing up, thinking they have a shot," he said as he shook his head in disgust.

"Well I have bad news for them," the man now known as Qawi stated boldly as his acquaintance stood there uninterested in the entire situation. "I won't be holding back for anyone! If you entered this tournament, then you accepted the risks of being hurt!"

Serena gulped at his last statement. The man didn't appear to be bluffing at all about his statements based on the look on his face. How she hoped to not be matched up against him at all.

"He talks way too much," a calming voice said as Serena jumped upon the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, Serena saw that it was the Mega Absol trainer... No, Astrid standing there, smiling at the younger trainer.

"People like him need to learn to just keep quiet. No one wants to hear his self-proclamations. In a battle you treat your opponent with respect and dignity. But all I see from him is a showboating attention grabber.

"I agree. Someone needs to show him something," Miette said as she joined the two other females. The three continued to watch the pale skinned man continue on about how he's the greatest and will win without any problem at all.

Now noticing that the time was approaching seven, the group of now six made their way from the entrance of the stadium and down towards the hallway that led to the main arena.

Walking through the hallways, Serena was fascinated by all the different pictures and plaques that lined the walls with the winners of the different tournaments they held here. Hundreds of names were on dozens of plaques until finally the hallway ended at a door where a bright light flooded out of.

Walking through the open corridor, Serena and the entire group had to shield their eyes from the bright stadium lights that would otherwise blind them. Once adjusted to the brightness, Serena started to look around.

The stadium appeared to be in a hexagon shape as the rows upon rows of seats made it look like said shape. Continuing to look around, Serena noticed a large screen right in the center of the wall and hundreds of camera crews lining the upper balconies hoping to catch something magical happening tonight. Blinking a little at the sight of this all, Serena finally noticed a rather familiar man standing next to the microphone at the podium.

"Isn't that the merchant?" Bonnie asked while tugging on Clemont's jumpsuit. The entire group had the same exact thought with the exception of Astrid.

"Well, I guess you could put it that way," the older blonde stated with a smirk. She had spent roughly the past two days here and gathered information about the town and the tournament. "That man actually owns the entire Battle Resort that we're all staying at. During the day he dresses up as a merchant and sells little trinkets to help the city's struggling citizens. Despite the beautiful scenery, quite a few people are having hard times right now as the government of the town takes in most of the businesses income through taxes."

"And the man next to him is the head of the tournament committee. Every time they hold a tournament here, he supposedly locks himself in a room with the rest of the board until they devise some new and interesting rules. And the other man, the one with the blond hair, he's been announcing these tournaments for over twenty years now."

"That's impressive," Clemont muttered as everyone watched the three men before them. The blond haired man was dressed in a black suit with a red tie and was also wearing black sunglasses while his hair was combed to the side, trying to hide his thinning hair.

The other man was rather plump to put it nicely. He had on a black suit as well and appeared to be much shorter than the others. Finally breaking the silence, the committee head spoke first.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He began with, a much deeper voice than anyone probably expected him to have, before wiping some sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief.

"I would like to personally welcome all of you to Dubayy City's yearly tournament. This year's tournament includes a whopping 128 competitors, something that will be whittled down to just one trainer by the end of this seven-day extravaganza!"

The crowd and some of the competitors themselves broke into a round of applause for the man. It appeared that everyone was getting into the spirit of the tournament as Ash looked around.

He tried to see if he could find either Tierno or Alain, but it was to no avail. However, Ash did notice Qawi and remembered exactly what he had told the reporter about winning. He continued to look around the crowd, only stopping once the committee head began again.

"Now, the tournament is fairly simple. Or at least you'd think it was based on your packets of information. Of course, the committee lead by myself had agreed to leave out rules to keep some twists in the works."

"But, what I can reiterate is some facts," he said before pausing for a moment. Allowing the crowd a moment to let the fact that he just admitted to twists occurring during the tournament sink in. Upon hearing the whispers and murmurs turn into cheers of excitement, the committee head motioned for them to quiet down.

"Just as I thought," Serena muttered as she watched the man up at the podium. "They purposely left rules out to keep us guessing."

"Yeah, but that will only make the battles much more interesting!" Ash decided upon as excitement shined in his eyes.

"Yes, yes. Quite the surprise I must admit, even I'm excited for them. But, all battles will be one-on-one with exactly a thirty-minute time limit. If no winner has been declared by then, a judge shall declare one!"

"In that case it's better to finish the battle up sooner than later," Ash muttered as he noticed the screen turn on. "You don't want to lose because of a judge's decision." Just then, everyone's images appeared on the screen before circling around it.

"I'll now hand the microphone off to you," the committee head politely said as he detached it from the stand. Handing it over to the blond haired man, the committee head left the podium.

"Alright everyone, who here is ready for a battle!?" The announcer cried out as he made his way down from the podium. The entire crowd cheered so loudly that it felt like the stadium would collapse.

Smiling at the noise level, the announcer tossed the microphone up into the air before catching it behind his back. "That's what I like to hear people! Now let's get this party started if you know what I mean. The matchups for the first round have been decided upon and so I ask that all participants please get off of the main arena floor!"

Listening to the man's advice, every participant walked back onto the metal platforms that connected to the corridors. To their surprise, the platform that they had been standing on lowered down below them and replaced by a platform that contained many smaller fields.

"Oh yeah! The preliminaries are about to begin. Whoever are the lucky 64 trainers to win their battles tonight advance into the actual tournament which takes place tomorrow. Before that though, all winners tonight are being treated by a dinner by the Battle Resort's owner himself!"

"They're really going all out with this," Clemont stated as he looked up at the screen. He wasn't until later on in the preliminaries.

"Huh, look. Sawyer's here as well," Ash stated, both confusion and excitement filling his voice. Following his finger, the group noticed the picture of the green haired trainer up on the screen. "Hopefully I get to battle him!"

"Let's get this show moving people!" The announcer cried out as the very first battles were about to begin. Thanks to the smaller fields, the tournament could hold four battles at once to move the preliminaries along.

Each match moved along with ease as one after another trainers advanced into the main tournament. As the night reached eight O'clock, Serena noticed that roughly half the field had already gone. She knew that from those she had seen, that Aria had advanced after defeating her opponent with a powerful Flamethrower attack. The way those two moved in battle was a sight to see, dodging all the attacks thrown at them by their opponent, a Shiftry.

Also advancing had been Tierno and Shauna. Both of whom had won their matches with relative ease thanks to their Blastoise and Ivysaur respectively. Serena had now turned her attention to watching Astrid battling a trainer and his Electabuzz with her Absol.

"Absol, use Dark Pulse!" The blonde haired trainer commanded as her dark type leaped high into the air. Opening its mouth, Absol fired off the black and purple beam of energy.

"Cancel it out with Thunderbolt!" Her opponent, a man by the name of Kyle commanded. Building up electricity within the antennae on its head, Electabuzz shot the stream of electricity right at the Dark Pulse.

The two blasts collided in the middle of the field, causing a slight explosion to occur as a cloud of smoke covered the field.

"That was a great idea to cancel out my Dark Pulse. But that won't slow us down!" Serena could hear Astrid state from within the smoke. "Shadow Claw, go!"

Within seconds Serena could hear the sounds of a Pokémon crying out in pain as the sound of a claw slashed against it. Wondering what was happening, Serena managed to see Absol standing over a defeated Electabuzz.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle! The winner is Absol and so Astrid advances into the tournament!" The referee declared as Astrid recalled Absol into its Poké Ball. Before being escorted out of the stadium.

"It's good that Astrid advanced." She may not have known Astrid for long, but in the short time that they had spent together she had been a fun person to talk to. Hopefully they would have more time to spend together while the tournament was happening.

Looking to her left, Serena noticed that Clemont was just about to start his match against a rather young looking boy. Starting to watch with interest, Serena soon heard her own name be called.

"Participant Serena! Your match against participant Sabrina is about to begin on field three! Both trainers please make your way over here!

Following the voice, Serena made her way over to the field. Facing her opponent, the Performer couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by her opponent. Sabrina appeared to be a good four or five inches taller than her and was dressed in a leather coat and leather pants.

Trying to remain calm, Serena slowed her breathing until she felt comfortable enough to begin the battle. Gripping her Poké Ball, she tossed it forward as the capture device opened up to reveal her Braixen. Landing in front of her trainer, Braixen instinctively raised her branch in front of her and prepared for battle.

"That's cute. Your little fox thinks she can handle one of my Pokémon," Sabrina teased as she tossed a Poké Ball up and down in her hand. "Please, kid, don't fool yourself. We both know you don't stand a chance against me so why don't you just forfeit now."

"No way!" Serena shot back, confidence filling her voice. They hadn't come all the way out to this tournament to just forfeit in the preliminaries. She was going to prove to not only herself, but to everyone else that she could be a capable battler! "I'll never give up!"

"Suit yourself," Sabrina replied while shrugging her shoulders. She had no intention to hurt the girl's Pokémon, but if she wasn't going to forfeit then she had no choice at all. Tossing the Poké Ball in her hand up into the air, Sabrina watched as an Arbok emerged from it.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Serena asked no one in particular as she reached for her Pokedex. Pointing the encyclopedia at the Poison-Type, Serena listened intently.

"Arbok, the Cobra Pokémon. It is said to be extremely strong to constrict their opponents. Once Arbok wraps itself around its foe, it is said to be impossible to escape."

Placing the Pokedex back into her pocket, Serena realized just how careful she had to be. One slip up and it was all over for her and Braixen. Looking at her opponent, it appeared that Sabrina and her Arbok weren't worried at all.

"Braixen, start off with Flamethrower!" Not wasting any time by jumping around, Braixen fired off the stream of flames immediately and it appeared like it was going to be a direct hit.

"Dodge with Dig," Sabrina responded, sounding more bored than anything else. It appeared as if Serena wasn't even worth her time.

Digging underneath the field, Arbok avoided the oncoming attack effortlessly as the Cobra Pokémon burrowed underground. Looking around the field, both Serena and Braixen were unaware of where Arbok would appear from. Watching the field with the utmost importance, Serena was unable to pinpoint any location that seemed like a good chance of an attack.

"Now, Arbok!"

The command had caught both Serena and Braixen by surprise. Neither of them had any time to react to the recent order and could only watch as Arbok burrowed up from under the ground and smashed right into Braixen. The Fox Pokémon was sent flying backwards from the attack but stood back up.

"Are you alright, Braixen?"

"Brai!" The Fire-Type shouted as she picked her branch up off of the ground. The last attack had caused her to drop upon impact from the Poison-Type.

"Great! Time to try something new! Use Hidden Power!" Serena commanded while the Fox Pokémon pointed her branch forward. Firing from the tip were three silver spheres of energy, all of which were heading straight for Arbok.

"That Hidden Power doesn't even seem powerful at all," Sabrina muttered as she waved a hand forward out of boredom. "Knock them away with Poison Tail."

"Not so fast! Now, Flamethrower!"

Now it was Sabrina's turn to be surprised by the command. As Arbok's tail glowed purple and began swatting away the Hidden Power, the Cobra Pokémon was roasted by the stream of fire.

"That was great, Braixen! A direct hit!" Serena said happily as the duo celebrated their hit. However, the celebration would be short lived as Arbok emerged from the flames perfectly fine with the exception of a few burn marks.

"I'll give that one to you. It was a smart idea to trick us," Sabrina said while clapping. Maybe the girl had more to her than she first gave her credit for. But, that didn't mean anything since she was here to win the tournament. "But try this on for size! Arbok, use Gunk Shot!"

The Poison-Type opened its mouth and fired off a stream of black and purple liquid. Upon the release of the attack, both Serena and Braixen had to do their best to not cover their noses due to the awful smell associated with the attack.

"Braixen, cancel it out with Fire Blast!" Serena commanded as the Fire-Type leapt backwards while spinning her wand. Finally, ready to launch the attack, Braixen pointed the branch forward as a large blast emerged.

The two attacks then collided in the middle of the field causing smoke to cover it and lower all visibility. Looking around in the smoke, Serena tried to find Arbok to no avail. It appeared to be hidden really well within the smoke, or at least Serena thought so.

"Braixen, do you hear something?" Serena asked nervously as she heard what appeared to be a burrowing noise. Then, to their surprise, Arbok emerged from right underneath Braixen and wrapped itself all around the Fire-Type.

"Braixen!" Serena cried out in concern. It appeared as though Braixen couldn't move a single muscle of her body due to the powerful Cobra Pokémon. Wiggling around as best as she could, Braixen only found it harder to move the more she tried to resist.

"I wouldn't continue doing that," Sabrina said truthfully as she placed one hand on her hip. Looking at Serena with a smirk now, the older woman couldn't help but let a small glare form with her eyes.

"Arbok's Wrap attack is one of the deadliest attacks I've trained it to learn. The more your Braixen tries to break free, the tighter the bondage becomes little girl. It would be best to just forfeit the match now before your little Fire-Type gets too badly hurt.

Serena didn't know what to do. Looking at Braixen, the Performer could see the color on her Pokémon's face changed to a darker color due to the lack of oxygen. However, she couldn't see herself forfeiting. Not while there was still a chance. If there was anything she had learned from Ash, it was to never give up until it was over. And that was what she planned to do!

Looking at the situation, Serena could see Braixen's branch still in her hands. That was good since they could at least try one Fire-Type attack at best, but they would have to use it wisely. Looking at the current situation of Arbok's Wrap attack, it appeared that Braixen could possibly use one of her attacks.

"Braixen, can you use Flamethrower?" Serena asked as the Fire-Type managed to move her branch. Rubbing it against the skin of Arbok, Braixen managed to light her branch on fire. "Perfect! Now let it rip!"

"Arbok, don't let her get that attack off!"

But it was too late. Braixen had just enough space to launch the Flamethrower as the streams surrounded the two Pokémon in a column of flames. Braixen didn't appear to be affected by the fire too much unlike Arbok. The Poison-Type was sweating like crazy, causing its grip to loosen and gave Braixen the chance to escape.

Climbing out of Arbok's death grip, Braixen appeared to be much better and signaled to her trainer. "Now, Braixen, use Fire Blast!"

Arbok had no time to react as the large blast slammed right into its body. The attack had been strong enough to free the Poison-Type from its fiery trap, but it also packed quite the punch as well. Noticing that her Pokémon was now panting, Sabrina needed to do something quick.

"Flamethrower!" Serena's voice filled the area again as Sabrina was now sweating. This girl just wasn't giving them a chance to counter ever since she escaped from their Wrap attack.

"Quick, escape with Dig! We'll rest underground to recover some strength!" Sabrina ordered as her Arbok nearly avoided the second Flamethrower as the tip of its tail was caught in the blast.

Serena however had a different idea. If there was anything she learned from, it was to use everything to her advantage. "Braixen, Flamethrower down that hole! Quick!"

"Brai," the Fox Pokémon cried out as she jumped right over the latest hole and shot a flame down it. A loud cry could be heard as the excess flames were now flying out of the other holes and Arbok soon joined it.

"Grrrrrrr," Sabrina muttered through grit teeth. She had taken it easy in the beginning since she viewed Serena as an easy opponent, but now it was coming back to hurt her now that Arbok had taken all this damage.

"Arbok, Poison Tail! Knock that branch away from that pesky fox!" Moving swiftly across the field, Arbok appeared before Braixen in an instant despite its fatigue. Swinging its tail forward, the Poison-Type knocked the branch away and across the field before slamming its tail back into Braixen's stomach.

Braixen hunched over from the attack and before she could do anything else felt Arbok's tail smash into her back and force her onto the ground, pinned under the pressure. Serena could do nothing but watch now. Without her branch, Braixen couldn't really do anything to break free.

Closing her eyes, Serena felt a few tears sting her eyes. They had traveled all this way and it seemed as though she was going to be the only one to lose out of all her friends. Pressing her eyes tighter together, Serena hoped it would stop the tears from flowing. It, but something else did...

"What do we always say!?" Ash's voice rang out from the field right next to hers. It appeared that he was getting ready for his match when he noticed her current situation.

"We... We never give up..." Serena muttered as she choked back the tears and urge to cry over the pain Braixen was suffering right now.

"That's right," Ash told her while giving a heartwarming smile. If there was ever a time he could help her more than he thought he was, it was right now. His words alone were helping Serena get back under control and think clearly.

"There's always a way out of any situation! It's just how you use it to your advantage!"

Serena listened to his words and quickly wiped the remaining tears from her face. Looking over the field with a renewed spirit, she quickly noticed something interesting. A few of the holes left over from Arbok's previous Dig attacks were lined up perfectly for them to use.

"Braixen, please try and use Flamethrower," Serena begged her Pokémon. She couldn't even remember the last time Braixen used an attack other than Scratch without her branch, but if they were going to win they needed to do it. "Please, it's our only way to win."

"Br... Brai... Braixen, brai," the Fire-Type muttered out despite the increasing pressure from Arbok's tail. Opening her mouth, the Fox Pokémon felt the warming sensation flow through her mouth as a few flames built up. Slowly, the heat increased until a ball of fire was built up within her mouth.

Pushing that ball forward, it immediately burst into a stream of fire which fell into the hole left in front of them. Braixen didn't quit there as she continued to push the flames down the tunnel until finally a wave of fire crashed down onto Arbok from behind.

"Arrr...Bok!" The Poison-Type cried out in pain as it was burnt from the attack. Moving its tail, Arbok allowed Braixen to be freed at the right moment.

"Now, end this with Scratch!" Lunging forward, Braixen's claws glowed a bright white as she slashed them across Arbok's body. The Cobra Pokémon was still preoccupied from its burning sensation that it had no time to put up a proper guard.

Being thrown backwards from the attack, Arbok landed in front of its trainer defeated. Noticing the condition, the referee made the call.

"Arbok is unable to battle! The winner is Braixen and Serena shall be advancing onto the tournament!"

"We did it Braixen!" Serena cried out happily as she ran over to her partner. Helping her stand up after a hard fought battle, the duo celebrated a little before the Fire-Type was recalled into her Poké Ball. Smiling at Braixen's Poké Ball, Serena could barely contain the excitement from her very first victory in a battle that didn't involve Team Rocket. She was then quickly pulled out of her little celebration by the referee.

"Now, miss, please follow that path over there," he said while pointing towards a hallway she hadn't noticed before. "It'll take you to an area to get ready for tonight's banquet in honor of making it to the tournament. In accordance with our policies, feel free to use whatever you like."

"Thank you," Serena replied as she looked over at Ash, it appeared that he was finally going to battle and so she decided to stay and watch. His battles were always so exciting and whenever he won brought her joy. Waiting on who he would choose, Serena was the least bit surprised to see Pikachu be chosen.

"Alright, Pikachu, you ready to move onto the tournament?" Ash asked as his best friend ran onto the field, cheeks sparking with electricity. Pikachu was more than excited to finally battle again after not battling since they last saw Sawyer.

"Ha!" Ash's opponent chuckled once he saw the electric mouse. Serena noticed his appearance to be a rather large man as he stood almost a foot taller than Ash. He was dressed as if he had just come from a hiking trip, which wouldn't have been out of the question due to the nearby mountain ridge. "You think a little, Pikachu can beat me? Go, Rhyperior!" Landing before the man with a loud thud was none other than the Rock and Ground-Type.

"Your electric attacks won't work on us!"

"We won't have to rely on only those! Pikachu and I will take advantage of everything else!" Ash confidently stated as he threw an open palm outwards. "We'll defeat you in just one hit! Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

"Rhyperior, stop him with Stone Edge!" Slamming its fists into the ground, Rhyperior summoned forth a group of stones as they erupted out of the ground and across the field.

The attack did nothing to slow down Pikachu however. The Electric-Type avoided each and every pillar as he twist and turned around each new one that tried to stop him. Once he was within striking distance, Pikachu jumped onto one of the stones before leaping high into the air. Spinning around as his tail glowed white, Pikachu slammed it down hard onto the Rock and Ground-Type's head.

Rhyperior stumbled around from the attack as it appeared to have lost all its balance. Walking back and forth, the Rock and Ground-Type finally collapsed on the ground defeated. Its trainer just looked on, confused and shocked by the entire battle.

"Rhyperior... Is unable... to battle!" The referee managed to make the words stumble out of his mouth, having been just as shocked as everyone watching. "Pikachu is the winner and so Ash will advance onto the tournament!"

Serena watched Ash and Pikachu celebrate as a light blush formed across her face. It was moments like this that really made her admire Ash. Most trainers would probably celebrate rather loudly for winning in one hit, but Ash was humble. Well, as humble as someone being tackled by his Pokémon could be that is. But still, the sight of Ash and Pikachu warmed her heart as she watched them sitting on the ground.

"They really are something special," an unknown voice rang next to Serena. Turning to look, she was surprised to see the girl she had passed on the way out of the Battle Resort. "Those two have a bond that could never be broken."

"I know," Serena replied as she continued to watch on in admiration. "They've been through so much together that it makes sense. I think they have a chance to win the entire tournament."

"As do I," Zinnia replied as she turned away from Serena. She had seen what needed to be seen at that moment. The stories were true about Ash being an excellent trainer. It was no easy feat to defeat a Rhyperior with a single Iron Tail. "But first he'll have to beat me," she trailed off with a smile. Maybe it was a good idea to show up.

"Alright everybody! We are now down to the final battle of the preliminaries and so we'll give these two our actual field!" The announcer cried out as everyone got off of the platform only to watch it be replaced with a rock field. "Could Alain and Higana please step forward?"

"Alain's battling," Ash muttered once he reached Serena. He had seen Clemont head off with the other advancing trainers once he had won. A rather easy match for him and Luxray, that Clauncher was no match for them. But Ash wanted to see Alain battle, he just knew it would turn into an amazing match.

"So, is this Alain anything special?" Miette's voice rang out as she appeared on the other side of Ash. Apparently her own match had just finished as Ash's had and so she decided to stick around.

"Yeah, his Charizard can Mega-Evolve," Ash stated excitedly. He could still remember just how powerful Alain had been when he and Charizard defeated Greninja. "They even managed to defeat me."

"The final preliminary match is about to get under way! Who will advance onto the tournament? Will it be Alain or Higana?" The announcer cried out as both trainers made their way to their respective sides.

* * *

 **Man, what am I doing? Why is Zinnia and the Draconids at the tournament? Who is Zebidi and what did his man do to Ash? And why does Zinnia have an obsession with Ash? Well, these will be answered later on in the story. Now, Zinnia is obviously there with something in relation to Zebidi so it makes sense to use a different name and so in the tournament she entered under Higana, her Japanese name in the games and Jinga is the name of one of the Draconids from the ORAS chapter of the manga. Also, Qawi is Arabic for strong which based around his personality shown in his little interview I think it makes sense and will make sense once more is revealed although, he is hiding something from all the competition which I can't say much about...**

 **Now, onto the battles. I wanted to show that Ash is ahead of most people at the tournament by having Pikachu OHKO something that he obviously didn't have a good matchup against. While I wanted to show Serena struggling more since she never battles unless Team Rocket shows up. And like I said in the story, there will be multiple twists in the tournament to keep it from being a simple story.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and how I can improve the story.**


	3. The First Surprise

**Welcome back everyone. Last time we left off, Ash and the gang had all made it through the preliminaries and into the tournament while also watching Qawi make a bold proclamation about winning the entire tournament. Elsewhere, Zinnia appeared to gain an interest in Ash and is now set to battle Alain.**

 **Ch 3 The First Surprise**

* * *

"Alright everybody! We are now down to the final battle of the preliminaries and so we'll give these two our actual field!" The announcer cried out as everyone got off of the platform only to watch it be replaced with a rock field. "Could Alain and Higana please step forward?"

"Alain's battling," Ash muttered once he reached Serena. He had seen Clemont head off with the other advancing trainers once he had won. A rather easy match for him and Luxray, that Clauncher was no match for them. But Ash wanted to see Alain battle, he just knew it would turn into an amazing match.

"So, is this Alain anything special?" Miette's voice rang out as she appeared on the other side of Ash. Apparently her own match had just finished as Ash's had and so she decided to stick around.

"Yeah, his Charizard can Mega-Evolve," Ash stated excitedly. He could still remember just how powerful Alain had been when he and Charizard defeated Greninja. "They even managed to defeat me."

"The final preliminary match is about to get under way! Who will advance onto the tournament? Will it be Alain or Higana?" The announcer cried out as both trainers made their way to their respective sides.

"This final match will determine the last participant who shall be allowed entrance into the tournament and I think we have quite the matchup here folks!" The announcer continued on despite the entire stadium being practically empty. Perhaps it was just how he was.

"Charizard, let's go!" Alain cried out as he tossed his Poké Ball forward. Appearing in a bright light was none other than his signature Pokémon who let out a loud roar upon landing on the field.

"I see that you and Charizard can Mega-Evolve," Zinnia spoke as a grin crossed her face. Perhaps she could test this guy out and see if he would be of any use to her. "How would you like to skip any warm ups and get right into the real fight? Go, Salamence!" Landing with a loud thud was none other than the Dragon-Type, who had a Mega Stone strapped around its neck.

"Hmph, if it's a Mega Evolution battle you want, then I'm more than happy to accept," Alain stated smugly as he touched the Keystone placed in his Mega Ring. "Keystone, respond to my heart! Evolve beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!"

Light shone off of both Alain's Keystone and Charizard's Mega stone as the Fire and Flying-Type glowed while changing shape and size. Once the process was complete, Charizard appeared to look completely different. Gone was the orange and cream color and replaced by a black and light blue scheme. His wings were also shaped differently, but that didn't appear important. Ash had battled Charizard before and knew just how strong it could be.

"Behold, this is Mega Charizard. We've both traveled all over Kalos in the pursuit of our dream of becoming the strongest Mega Evolution trainer out there. We will win today and continue in our pursuit."

"It looks nice, but can it handle this?" Zinnia replied before bending over and touching what appeared to be some sort of ankle strap that wound up her leg. Light shone off of it, revealing that a Keystone had been placed within it while the Mega Stone around Salamence's neck shined as well. Changing shape, Salamence appeared to be growing much slimmer as its wings changed to a more curved look and its arms and legs shrunk in size.

"This is Mega Salamence. If you truly want to become the strongest, then you'll have to beat us right here and now."

"Higana seems awfully confident right now," Serena muttered as she picked up on the smirk from the other girl. Something just didn't seem right about it at all. She couldn't understand why Higana seemed so relaxed right now. Anyone else would have been a little nervous... Well, except Ash, he probably would have been the same way minus the smugness.

Ash didn't appear as worried right now. Instead, he was waiting for the first moves to be issued with excitement. It wasn't every day he got to witness a Mega Evolution battle in person. Turning to Serena, Ash smiled at her before answering. "Higana is going to have a difficult time, Alain and Charizard are extremely strong. We've seen it first hand when he beat Greninja. So, for her to be this confident must speak words to her strength."

"Do you think Alain could beat her?" Miette asked as the battle appeared to be stalling. Neither side was issuing a command at the moment and it seemed that they were both waiting for the other to attack first. "I've never seen either of them battle before now, but from what you said is he really that powerful?"

"Yeah, he probably ranks right up there with Paul, Tyson and Tobias as the strongest trainers I've ever faced in battle." Ash didn't think it was important to mention who any of those three were, as at that moment Alain made the first move.

"We'll see just how well you can dodge this! Charizard, Flamethrower let's go!" Alain issued calmly as the Flame Pokémon opened his mouth. Firing off the stream of blue flames, Charizard aimed the attack right at Mega Salamence only to be shocked when he missed.

Moving at a faster rate than Alain thought was possible, Salamence had managed to fly straight up and avoid the Flamethrower. Despite the attack continuing on as Charizard turned and fired the flames into the sky, Salamence managed to avoid the flames with ease.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to become the best," Zinnia taunted her opponent as Salamence continued to dodge with ease. Once the attack stopped, Salamence landed back down on the field showing no signs of any fatigue. "We've spent years training together and aren't going to be an easy opponent. Now, use your Flamethrower!"

"Charizard, counter with our Flamethrower as well!"

The two Fire-Type attacks were launched simultaneously by their users and collided right over the middle of the field. Exploding on contact, the two blasts kicked up bits of the field as rocks crashed into both Pokémon.

"Now, Thunder Punch, let's go!" Charizard immediately took to the air as he flew at his opponent. Smashing his fist at the location where Salamence had been, the Flame Pokémon was surprised to see his attack only make contact with the rocky field.

"We're over here," Zinnia continued to taunt as Salamence was seen landing on top of the small rock platform. Looking to be bored, Salamence let out a slight sigh as it appeared this match wasn't much fun. "Alright, Salamence, use your Dragon Rush attack!"

Gliding off of the rocky platform, Salamence was enveloped in a blue aura as it sailed right for Charizard.

"Quick, Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain quickly issued the command as he formed a fist with his open hand. "We'll show you just how strong we are!"

Raising his claws up in front of his body, Charizard's claws glowed green before growing in size. Now blocking his body, Charizard managed to block the incoming Dragon Rush.

"We won't lose! We'll grow stronger together! And we will defeat you!" Alain stated as his eyes became cold. "We must become stronger than everyone else!"

As if in response to Alain's words, Charizard managed to push Salamence back much to the surprise and enjoyment of Zinnia. Smirking at the scene, Zinnia paid close attention to Alain's facial features but what she saw disappointed her.

Instead of joy and compassion all she could see was that of anger. Of coldness. Of even regret. All of these reactions had to have been building up over time. It appeared that he didn't have a true understanding of strength at all.

"After them with Thunder Punch!" Charizard lowered his claws as they turned back to normal before chasing after the now flailing Salamence. With his fists flowing with electricity, the Fire-Type slammed them down into Salamence and caused the Dragon and Flying-Type to crash into the ground.

"Do you see just how strong we are now?" Alain asked as Charizard landed in front of him. The duo appeared to be in control, or at least it looked like it.

"Is that really your best?" Zinnia teased as the dirt in the air finally subsided to reveal a perfectly fine Salamence with the exception of a few scratches. "I thought we said no warmups? I really expected more from you, Alain."

"Try this! Charizard use Dragon Claw!" Alain commanded as anger could be heard in his voice. No one questioned his strength. He had to be the strongest no matter what!

"Block it with Steel Wing." Salamence's wings then glowed white for a moment before stiffening up. Moving its body to the right angle, the Dragon Pokémon blocked the attack perfectly before slamming its second wing into Charizard.

"And now Double-Edge!" Lunging forward, Salamence slammed itself right into Charizard and sent the Mega-Evolved Pokémon into the mountain.

"Charizard! Are you alright?" Alain asked nervously as he watched his partner get back up. Everything they tried just wasn't working at all. She just had a counter for it.

"No! This can't be happening!" He yelled in anger before slamming his fist into his open palm. He just couldn't lose, he had to win! "I need to be stronger! I just need to!"

"And why is it so important about being strong?" Zinnia asked, deciding to pause for a moment and try and figure out this guy. "Why is it so important? You should know that there will be others out there to rival your strength."

"When I first left on a journey with Charizard we agreed to learn everything there was to Mega-Evolution. We were both mesmerized by it and vowed to become the strongest Mega-Evolution team."

"Then we ran into someone," Alain stated before pausing for a second to remember his past companion. "We traveled together but then one day I wasn't strong enough. They were in harm's way and I felt useless. From that day on I vowed to become stronger! Strong enough to always protect anyone close to me! So that they could never be put in harm's way again!"

"Now it's time to end this! Charizard, Blast Burn!" Alain commanded, bringing in his ultimate attack. Slamming his fist into the ground, blue flames erupted across the field before exploding all around Salamence.

"I... I think that did it, Charizard," Alain panted out. The battle had taken a toll on him both mentally and physically and so he was drained."

"So, now I understand why you're so headstrong," Zinnia voice could be heard alongside clapping. Even though Alain couldn't see anything, he didn't like the sound of things.

"I guess I had you all wrong, Alain. But it still won't change a thing. You'll never become truly strong by acting this way," she continued on as the smoke finally vanished to show a still standing Salamence. "There's more to strength than just power and until you learn that you'll never be strong."

"Oh yeah!?" Alain asked, all his usual confidence leaving him in this very moment. "Dragon Claw go!"

Sighing Zinnia shook her head at his words. "You don't get it... Stop letting your emotions cloud your judgement. Being strong isn't just about raw power. It involves knowing when things are stacked against you. Thinking things through and not just reacting. Compassion and love and last but not least is the sense of right and wrong."

"It's been an interesting battle, but now it's time to end it. Hopefully one day you'll learn what true strength is," Zinnia finished her statement with a smirk. "Now, Dragon Rush!"

Leaping above the now lunging Charizard, Salamence flew around in the sky before a blue aura surrounded it. Flying straight down, Salamence rammed right into Charizard and sent both of them hurtling into the mountain.

"Charizard!"

"Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is Salamence and advancing into the tournament is Higana!" The referee declared as both trainers recalled their Pokémon.

"A-Alain lost..." Ash couldn't believe it. Alain, who he thought was one of the strongest trainers he had ever met just lost badly to this stranger. What would that mean for the rest of them competing? Watching the older boy walk away, Ash called out to him.

"Alain! Where are you going now!?"

"I lost," he replied with what sounded like disappointment in his voice. "I wasn't strong enough to win... So now I'll have to train harder than before to make sure I am much stronger next time something like this happens."

"But what about our battle?"

"We'll see each other again. And when that day comes I know we'll have a worthy battle," he finished before heading down the tunnel everyone came in from. Ash was about to chase after him only to stop upon hearing the announcer's voice.

"If all remaining participants who advanced onto the tournament could head down this hallway and get situated for your victory banquet, it would be very appreciated."

Wanting to follow after Alain, but knowing that he had to follow the rest of the advancing trainers Ash decided to let Alain leave for now, vowing to have a real battle with him the next time they met. Looking back, Ash watched as the now distant image of Alain had vanished from his sight before heading back over to the others.

"Where's Alain heading off to?" Serena wondered aloud. Yes, he didn't advance, but Serena had thought he would have stuck around to battle Ash before leaving to who knows where.

"He said he needs to grow stronger," Ash replied as he thought back to that battle. Alain appeared to have done fine at some points, but it also appeared as though that Higana managed to get under his skin and make him lose his focus. "He must be taking that loss hard. Especially against a fellow Mega-Evolution user."

"I wouldn't worry so much about that Alain guy as I would his opponent," Miette added in to the conversation. She did have a good point about that and neither Ash nor Serena could argue her point. "If you said he was tough only to lose to her, what does that mean for everyone else?"

"Just an even harder opponent..." Serena muttered as she looked down to the ground. She had barely made it into the tournament and now there was this one trainer who was stronger than someone who beat Ash. How was she going to compete with that skill and power?

"But it also makes the matches more exciting!" Ash cried out as he pumped his fist in the air. Serena just smiled at his reaction, leave it to Ash to turn something like this into a positive situation. "It's always better when you're facing a tough opponent. When your back's up against a wall and you need to give it your all. That extra rush of adrenaline, it all makes it more fun."

"You're always so full of energy, Ash," Miette teased as she placed both hands behind her back and walked down the other corridor. They couldn't wait around all night; they did have a victory banquet to get to after all.

Following behind her, Ash and Serena both had similar thoughts running through their mind and it was about the tournament. Of course, one was hoping to face 'Higana' and the other was hoping she never gets the chance to face her. The trio now walked in silence as attendants awaited for them along the corridor, directing them in all different directions until they reached a hallway that split off into two separate directions.

"Men head down the left side," the latest attendant spoke as he graciously pointed down said hallway. "And ladies down the right," he finished, pointing in the opposite direction. "Down these halls are wash rooms for all participants to clean up in prior to the banquet tonight."

"I guess we could use a quick shower, right Pikachu?" Ash jokingly asked his best friend as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. Sure they may have won in just one move, but after a long day it wouldn't hurt to cool down for a moment. "I'll meet up with you two at the banquet," he told the two females with him before running down his hallway.

Making his way down the hall in a rush, Ash nearly missed the wash room if it hadn't been for a large man walking out of it as he ran by. Turning around, Ash could have sworn the man looked familiar from just a few minutes ago, but decided to not push the issue. The man however had different thoughts.

"You're that Ash Ketchum, right?" Jinga asked with a gruff voice. Even after witnessing him win in just one move, the Draconid was not that impressed. "I've heard great things about you from an acquaintance of mine. They speak very highly of you and I hope we get the chance to battle."

Ash didn't know how to respond, the man appeared to be rather intimidating by his large size and muscular body. And with the way he talked, Ash was unsure if the man liked him or not. "Thanks..." Ash muttered sheepishly before pumping his fist in front of his body. He wasn't going to be intimidated by anyone while battling here.

"If it's a battle you want, then I'll give you one you'll never forget!"

"For your sake, I hope so," Jinga muttered inaudibly before turning away from Ash. Making his way to the nearest attendant, Jinga followed him to the banquet room.

"Well that was strange, Pikachu," Ash said as the duo looked at each other in confusion. The guy hoped for a battle and then didn't even tell them his name. Though, out of everything Ash just hoped that the guy's Pokémon were strong. "Why don't we go get ready. We don't want to miss out on any of the food!"

* * *

"So, are you just going to worry the entire week or do something?" Miette asked as soon as the female attendant in the washroom left. The duo had stepped into nearby showers and were now getting ready for the banquet.

"W-What do you mean by that?" Serena asked while letting out a nervous chuckle. She didn't need to be constantly teased by Miette and Bonnie for the next seven days. "W-Worry about what?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Miette responded back to her rival with a playful tone. Sometimes it was just too easy to mess with Serena for the blue haired Performer. "Are you going to tell Ash how you feel this week or will you just constantly walk around with that look of worry on your face?"

"I'm just nervous about the tournament," Serena responded as she pouted from Miette's first question. "And besides, what I do in my personal time is none of your business. But, all these strong trainers have me worried..."

"Huh? Worried about what?" Miette asked, her curiosity peaking now. All the while, the two girls were unaware of someone snatching the clothes they left outside their shower stalls.

"That I shouldn't be competing. I'm not someone who battles often if at all. The last real battle I've had was at the dance party and that happened months ago. I'm worried that I'm not skilled enough to handle the likes of them and that I'll only get my Pokémon hurt."

"Serena..." Miette muttered in concern. The honey blonde Performer was giving herself too hard of a time right now when she didn't need to. "If you didn't belong here, then you wouldn't have won your preliminary match and move on. You earned your spot in the tournament so be proud about it. You and your Pokémon should be proud. Besides, Ash will probably like seeing you win..."

"Can we go ten minutes without you teasing me!" Serena half yelled and half laughed at Miette's last statement. If the girl was trying to make Serena feel better than it had worked as some of the worries were now gone from her subconscious. Thinking that she had spent enough time in the shower, Serena shut the hot water off and wrapped a towel around herself before stepping out and heading to the changing room where they left their clothes.

"Miette!" Serena called out upon stepping into the changing stall where she had left her clothes and bag, only now her clothes and bag were missing and replaced with a single written letter.

"What now, Serena," Miette whined as she too walked into her stall only to find an envelope containing a written letter. Seeing that her clothes were gone as well, Miette figured out that the missing clothes were what Serena had called her for. "Well, we might as well read the letter then. No point in just wasting our time.

Unfolding their letters, the two Performers silently read the typed words off of the letter with interest for whatever someone may have left behind for them.

 _First off, I would like to courteously congratulate you on a wonderful job in today's preliminary match and cordially invite you to tonight's banquet hosted by the Battle Resort. The hard work between your Pokémon and yourself were shown with their righteously earned victory just hours ago. Now, you may notice that your belongings that were brought into the washroom have vanished. Fear not, for the Battle Resort staff have taken it upon themselves to properly wash all of your clothes which will be delivered to your rooms along with your belongings during the night._

 _But, what about the victory banquet? I would never have my guests come dressed in dirty wardrobes or nothing at all. That would be terrible on my behalf as the owner of the Battle Resort. So, we have brought in suitable clothing for you to wear tonight hanging in the first stall with your name on it. Please accept it on our behalf and I hope you enjoy the night._

 _Here's to a wonderful tournament,_

 _-Claude Bonhomme, Battle Resort owner_

Putting the letter back down onto the bench in the changing stall, Serena peered out of her stall and made sure no one was outside before walking to the first stall wrapped in a towel. Opening the stall door, Serena noticed that there were about five dresses left in the room all of which were beautiful. Looking through them, she found the one with her name on it.

It reminded her a lot of the dress she had worn at the dance party, being a strapless red dress. But, that was where the similarities ended. The dress had a white waist band and black and red frills.

Putting the dress on, Serena walked out of the stall to see Miette dressed in a nearly identical dress only with different colors. Hers was a shade of light blue with a brick red waist band and silver and ocean blue frills.

"So everyone was given one after all," Miette stated as she did a little twirl in her dress to see the backside. Liking it, Miette stepped forward and looked at Serena. "It looks really nice on you."

"Thanks," Serena replied with a smile. Yes, Miette was a pain to her, but at other times she seemed like a close friend to Serena. If it hadn't been this whole rivalry over Ash, Serena felt that they could have been even closer. "Yours looks great as well."

"Thanks, but we should really be getting to the banquet," Miette decided as she walked out of the washroom with Serena behind her. Immediately an attendant pointed them in the correct direction of the banquet hall, completely unaware of what would soon be happening and how it was all related to their clothes.

The two girls continued their walk in silence as they noticed the hallway slowly change color and the material it had been made out of, showing that it was connected to the Battle Resort in the event that anyone wanted to use the battlefield at the stadium. They both noticed how well done the area was as pictures of Kalos' last king lined the walls and ancient vases and lamps sat on tables in the hallway. The white hallway shined underneath the crystal chandeliers as the duo finally made it to the banquet hall.

Looking inside, the two girls had been captivated by the elegant nature of the nature of the room as a large chandelier, even larger than the ones in the hallway, hung in the center of the room right above the tables of food. A large ice sculpture of a Poké Ball sat in the middle of the table as rows of food lined both sides of it. Even the seating was done up nice as circular tables were covered in what looked to be the finest white tablecloths they both had ever seen. Finally walking into the room, Serena and Miette managed to find Ash and the others sitting at a nearby table.

The two boys were both wearing outfits similar to the ones they had worn at the dance part as well. For Clemont he was dressed in a green suitcoat where the backside continued down to the back of his knees, a gold undershirt, gray dress pants and a purple cravat. Ash meanwhile was dressed in a suitcoat similar to Clemont's but dark blue in color with a red undershirt. He also had on light blue dress pants and a sky blue cravat.

"Serena, we're over here!" Ash called out while waving to the two girls upon seeing them. To them, Ash didn't appear too comfortable in the clothes, a feeling that seemed shared with Clemont. "The food's really good, you should get some." That was Ash, already eating before everyone got there.

"Where's Bonnie?" Serena asked, there was no sight of the younger girl since Clemont won his match earlier.

"She was tired and so I asked one of the Resort staff if I could bring her up to our room," Clemont answered while fixing his glasses. "Congratulations on moving along. Both of you"

"I'm glad you made it through as well," another voice stated as Serena looked across the table to see Astrid sitting there in a dress similar to hers. The only difference was that it was dark purple in color with a light purple waist band and black and purple frills. "Ash said you had won. I hope we get a chance to battle this week."

"Thanks," Serena responded as she sat down next to the older girl. Not knowing what to say, Serena decided to talk about the one topic she knew about Astrid. "So, how long have you and Astrid been traveling together?"

"Quite a few years now," Astrid replied while smiling at the younger girl. She had taken a quick liking to the younger girl since running into her at the tournament. "We've traveled throughout Kalos and after training quite a bit I think we're finally ready for the Kalos League."

"Wow, only the best trainers make it there. Have you already earned all eight badges?" Serena asked Astrid as the thought of Ash having to face this girl again came into her mind. Would he be able to beat her after last time? That was a dumb thought Serena thought to herself knowing full well that Ash had grown much stronger.

"Yeah, my Pokémon worked extremely hard for our last Gym Badge. We were just coming from the Snowbelle Gym and took a detour to come here once we heard about the tournament. It's the perfect training for the League."

"I'll root for you there, but if you have to face Ash I'm going to be rooting for him instead."

"I expected that to happen," Astrid teased back as the duo let out a chuckle. Maybe the tournament wouldn't be so bad with people like Astrid here.

Looking around the dinning, Serena noticed Tierno, Trevor and Shauna sitting off at a different area of the hall and Sawyer was off with a different group of trainers as well. Straining her eyes to find Aria, Serena found her with a group of female trainers laughing about something and finally she spotted that guy from before, Qawi. He didn't appear to be wearing any new clothes, obviously choosing against a shower. As did his friend, the large muscle head from before.

Hearing a sudden noise coming from the stage up front, Serena and the others quickly turned their attention to find the owner of the Battle Resort himself up there. Now with a better view of him, Serena noticed that Claude Bonhomme appeared to be a younger man, not any older than in his 30s and the Battle Resort must have been passed down to him by family. He had neatly trimmed blond hair and looked to be of average height. His skin was also a darker shade, obviously due to the direct sunlight he received every day. Watching as he cleared his throat, Serena could only wonder what he had planned.

"Hello, everyone," Claude started off with. Compared to the voice he used while a merchant, this one appeared to be much softer, more refined and of class. "I would first like to congratulate all of you on making it into the tournament. Of course, a preliminary round of exactly one battle isn't the hardest factor but it speaks volume to your worth of being here. It could have been just as easily been you going home tonight. Instead you have all secured spots into the actual tournament and are enjoying a nice banquet for your efforts."

"Now, as you are all wondering, this tournament is single-elimination. One loss and you're done. So plan carefully for your battles as you never know what you'll see on the battlefield," Claude said as a slight laugh escaped his mouth. He was truly excited for the tournament this year and couldn't wait for it to get going. "The challenges will be hard for all of you, but the sweet taste of victory will be that must better for the one who stands atop the others."

Claude looked around the banquet hall, looking at the eyes of all the trainers present. He saw many different feelings in their eyes. Some had happiness, some excitement, worry, fear, and anger were some of the others he saw. But what he saw was something that connected them all together; a love for Pokémon. Clearing his throat again, the Battle Resort owner continued on with his speech.

"Of course, life isn't all about hard work. Sometimes you need to cut loose and enjoy yourself as well," he began with before pulling out a blank card. "By the end of the night, all participating trainers will have received their own Resort pass free of charge. With them, you'll be given free admission to every building within Dubayy City courtesy of us here at the Battle Resort."

The hall broke out into a round of applause as everyone was excited at the thought of getting into some of the biggest locations in all of Dubayy City for free. Others whistled in approval, but once again, Serena noticed no reaction from Qawi or his acquaintance.

"When's he going to talk about the tournament," Ash muttered out loud for the whole table to hear. The group gathered couldn't help but laugh at his question. Only Ash would be more interested in rules for the tournament than knowing that he had free access to one of the biggest cities in all of Kalos.

"From how he's talking, it sounds like he's building up to something important," Clemont muttered as well. There did seem something fishy about Claude's speech, almost as if he was hiding something.

"As you all know, the committee head also announced that multiple twists would be in play throughout the tournament," Claude started to say only for a few participants to interrupt him with questions about the twists. Laughing at the eager trainers, the owner wiped his brow before continuing.

"While I'm not allowed to talk about any of the upcoming twists... I am allowed to explain our current one," he finished while the room grew silent. No one was expecting a twist to be occurring the first night before even the opening ceremonies. Everyone watched in anticipation to hear about the very first twist, only for Claude to remain silent.

"I wonder what the twist is?" Serena asked out loud only for everyone to have no clue either. It all seemed even stranger that Claude himself didn't mention anything other than the first twist would begin tonight. That was when Serena felt something weird happening. "Ahhhh!" She screamed from shock as her chair started to move on its own.

Looking around the hall, she noticed that everyone else was moving as well. But there was no set pattern as the chairs moved as if they had a mind of their own. Clutching to her chair as it moved around tables and other chairs with their shocked participants, Serena tried to understand the situation.

"No need to panic, people," Claude assured everyone as a large screen lowered behind him. On the screen appeared to be random numbers moving all over the screen much to everyone's confusion "This is all part of the first twist. This year's tournament will be none other than a tag-team tournament."

Some trainers in the crowd sounded excited at the prospect of a tag-team oriented tournament. Perhaps their partner could cover for their own weaknesses or maybe the duo could come up with a great strategy they couldn't make on their own. Others however appeared disappointed. They didn't come all the way here to risk their participation on the possibility of having a lousy partner.

"Now, allow me to explain. The clothes you were all given for tonight's banquet all had your registration numbers sown within while you were off showering. And those cards all have an electromagnetic chip inside of them where they're sending a homing beacon to a card with a similar chip to your own." Claude explained as Serena could have sworn that Clemont's face blew up with excitement once Claude started on about the chips and randomly selecting partners.

Looking around at the other participants, it appeared that some were already being paired up and at a rather fast rate. It also finally made sense why the food tables had been set up the way they were. All along them had been dishes set for what appeared to be people to take them, but the attendants had said not to touch them. Now though, upon finding your partner, the chairs were moving right for the empty dishes and it had been nothing more than an intricate plan to build a bracket.

Continuing her journey on her chair, Serena noticed that Clemont had luckily been paired up with Sawyer while Shauna and Trevor were also paired up. Adding to the list was the surprise that Qawi and the man he had been with were partners as well. Now, there was only one person she hoped was still partner less. Looking around, Serena noticed that Ash was still being pulled around by his chair which left hope for her chances to be his partner.

 _Please let me be with Ash..."_ She begged to herself while holding onto the chair with all her strength. _"And let it be decided soon,"_ she added in as the constant movements were making her feel sick. Then, to her shock it finally came to an end. Her chair had stopped moving in random directions and was heading for the table and the closest open location in the bracket. Lowering her head so that she could be surprised by her partner, Serena had no idea who was sitting next to her.

"I guess this means we're partners," Astrid's voice could be heard as Serena looked up. Sitting right next to her was her newest friend with a large smile on her face. Serena likewise smiled back at her current partner. If it couldn't have been Ash, at least it was a friend and not a complete stranger.

"Yeah! Let's show everyone here what we can do!" Serena replied as the two girls clasped their hands together to show they were serious about it.

"That's what I like to hear," Astrid said, she was one of the trainers excited by the thought of teaming up with someone for the tournament and was glad to get Serena as a partner. "Now, we just have to wait on a few more pairs," she said, pointing out that half of the bracket had been decided already.

* * *

"Hang on, Pikachu!" Ash cried out as his best friend held onto Ash's shoulder with all his strength. For something so thought out, they could have at least put a speed limit on the chairs. His seemed to be moving too fast for his liking right now.

"Pika!" The Electric-Type cried out in agreement as they both felt the air blow against their faces. Hopefully they would find their partner soon enough since everyone else appeared to.

"It looks like we're one of the last ones," Ash muttered as he noticed all of their friends had been paired up already with Tierno being partnered with Ariana as the latest one. "Hopefully they make for a good team." Just then, his chair started to slow down. To Ash it meant they found their partner and he was right. Moving to the table now, Ash's chair came to a complete stop in front of an empty dish.

"I wonder who we got paired with, Pikachu?" Ash wondered as he looked around for any chairs coming towards the table. Looking to his left and then his right, Ash accidently missed seeing his partner due to looking in the wrong direction. "Hopefully they show up soon. That way we'll know who it is."

"Your partner is sitting next to you," a female voice stated in a joking way. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Ash looked to his left to see Miette sitting next to him. "It looks like the cards thought we'd make a good team again."

"Miette!" Ash cried out excitedly. It was always better to be paired with a friend since that way you knew their battling style better. "I guess we are partners again."

"Yeah. We'll win this tournament for sure!" She cried out playfully as she threw a fist up in the air and wrapped her other arm around Ash's. "No one will be able to beat us."

Hearing a coughing sound, all the pairs looked up at the stage to see Claude looking at everyone with interest in his eyes. "Now, the pairs have all been decided and so we ask that you stay seated in your current spots while our photography crew comes around to photograph you. This way your pictures can be placed on your passes and so that it can also be used on the bracket."

"Once your picture is taken, you're free to leave and do whatever you like. But, the opening ceremonies begin at eight in the morning so be down at the stadium for now later than seven so that we can get everything ready. Until then, I wish all of you a wonderful night and the best of luck in tomorrow's matches." Claude then placed the microphone down on the podium before him and took his leave. It was starting to look like this tournament would be an interesting one after all.

Looking around, Serena still couldn't find Ash due to her location at the table. Sighing, she figured that she'd run into him and whoever his partner would be later on tonight. Instead, it would be best to focus on a strategy for tomorrow.

"So, Astrid," Serena began as she twirled the frills at the edge of her dress. "Do you have any other Pokémon besides Absol?" Serena could have sworn the battle between her and Ash had been more than Hawlucha and Absol, but after everything that happened those few days it was hard to remember them.

"Yeah, I have a few other ones on hand. Besides Absol I also have Meowstic and Pyroar with me," she explained while raising three Poké Balls. "Which Pokémon do you have?"

"I only have Braixen, Pancham, and a Sylveon as my Pokémon," Serena responded as she reached for her Poké Balls only to remember they were in her backpack which had been taken earlier.

"Our Pokémon sound like good matches whichever way we went. Whether we wanted to go for an offensive based strategy or defensive it could work," Astrid explained as the older girl then noticed something about Serena. Every few minutes it appeared that she was always looking for someone, if she had been a gambler, she would have put money down on Ash. Smiling a little, Astrid had a thought about what was going on, but wasn't going to say anything until she had more details on it.

The duo then continued to talk about what they were going to do for their opening round match tomorrow. They wanted to set things off on the right foot and make a strong impression for everyone watching that they were title contenders. Finally having their pictures taken, the duo decided it was best to talk privately and headed back to Astrid's hotel room to talk strategy.

"Okay, so I think it'll be best if we go with Absol and Braixen tomorrow in our match," Astrid offered an idea as the duo paced back and forth. Astrid was really getting into planning for the battle and Serena admired her for it. It wasn't every day she met a female trainer with the determination like her. "It would be smart to begin with our best Pokémon. Sure, it'll let the others know, but it's the safest option to go with. Especially considering your lack of experience in battle."

"And I'm sorry for that," Serena said as she lowered her head. She felt bad about the fact that Astrid had been stuck with someone who wasn't a battler in this tournament, but the older girl just shrugged it off. "Showcases don't have battles in them."

"I told you before, it's alright. Just follow my lead and we'll be fine tomorrow," Astrid promised as she started to pace again. "By the end of this tournament I'll have you as a competent battler, it just takes some experience. Now, I think if we start off with Braixen providing support for Absol it'll keep our opponents on edge since they won't know how to properly defend."

Serena just nodded in agreement as she listened. She had watched Ash and all of his strategies in person, but watching a battle and being in one were two different situations. Just because she had seen some different ideas for battling didn't mean they would work out well in this situation. Letting out a light yawn, Serena accidently interrupted Astrid's idea as the other trainer yawned as well.

"I guess we should really go to bed then. We have to get up early tomorrow," Astrid said as Serena stood up from the extra bed and made her way to the door. "You don't have to leave."

"But I should get to my room to rest," Serena responded. They had been talking for so long, both of them had lost track of time until Serena's yawn snapped them out of their strategy talk. "It's already after eleven."

"You can stay here for the night," Astrid offered as she pulled out a few of the extra pillows and tossed them onto the second bed in her room. Despite just getting to know this girl today, Astrid had grown close to her and viewed her as a younger sister of sorts. "There's no need to head all the way to your room when there's extra beds here. Besides, think of it as a girl's night," Astrid teased her partner which earned her a laugh from the Performer.

"Alright, I'll stay. But what about my stuff? I can't sleep in this dress?"

"I'll call the resort staff and tell them to send your belongings to my room. Until then you can borrow a pair of my extra sleep clothes," Astrid offered as she tossed Serena a light purple shirt and matching shorts. They appeared to be freshly clean based off of the detergent smell.

"Thank you, Astrid," Serena said before walking into the bathroom to change.

"No problem," Astrid replied as a smirk crossed her face. _"Besides, if what I think is going on with you is correct, you're going to need a lot of help,"_ she thought as the smirk grew into a full on grin as she laid face down on her bed. She had already changed into something more comfortable upon reaching her room and didn't need to change. Instead, she called down to the main desk to tell them where to bring Serena's belongings instead.

Just then, Serena walked out of the bathroom dressed in Astrid's spare sleeping clothes and the dress in her hands. Placing it down gently, Serena answered the door as a bellhop handed over her belongings before leaving. Now with everything ready for tomorrow, Serena laid down on the second bed, a large smile on her face after the first day.

"Night, Serena. Let's show them what we're made of!" She said while shutting the light by her bed off.

Despite the rocky beginning, everything appeared to work out just fine for her. Getting Astrid as a partner appeared to be the best thing that could have happened for her. Closing her eyes, Serena thought this week was going to be a great adventure.

"Goodnight, Astrid."

* * *

 **So, what did you all think of the teams? In case anyone missed the quick little references I made, I'll make a list of known teams down below for this chapter as a reference for anyone.**

 **Yeah, Serena appears to be hitting it off with her partner right away. It just seems like Astrid would be that friendly older sister type person to someone like Serena. But, that's just me and I might get that feeling by how every story I've read with Astrid in it she's been this really nice but also competitive person.**

 **Now with Ash and Miette, Serena doesn't know about them being partners at all and is in for a shock. The one person she didn't want spending a lot of time around Ash gets partnered with him. Also, the reason I didn't spend anytime having Sawyer and Clemont interact upon being paired up is because they don't play much of a big role in the story. They're both here for something later on.**

 **Finally, Alain. Why was Alain a fall guy? Well, I never had any intention of including Alain in the actual tournament. His entire purpose of being here was to be nothing more than a Yamcha. Hype up the new trainer who no one knows anything about. Think about it, Alain is the strongest person Ash had faced up to that point in Kalos (not counting Pikachu vs Gardevoir) and he just lost to Zinnia (Higana). That would definitely make Ash and the others wonder just how strong she is to beat Alain the way she did. Plus, I wanted Zinnia to see what's happening with Alain. He's frustrated over what happened to Chespie. He wants to make Chespie better and become stronger to make sure him or Mairin are never hurt again, but he doesn't understand the traits behind someone who is truly strong. Instead he's running on raw power (and in this battle the emotion of anger) which isn't what makes someone strong.**

 **Teams:**

 **Ash-Miette**

 **Serena-Astrid**

 **Clemont-Sawyer**

 **Shauna-Trevor**

 **Tierno-Aria "Ariana"**

 **Qawi-Acquaintance**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you enjoyed and how I can improve the story.**


	4. A Sticky Situation

**Welcome back everyone. Last time we left off the tournament's preliminary round came to a close as everyone except Alain managed to advance into the actual tournament. From there, the first of many twists was implemented; the revelation of a tag-team format and the teams were randomly formed.**

 **Ch 4: A Sticky Situation**

* * *

Serena woke up that morning as the rays of sun flashed in through the window. Sitting up on the end of her bed, Serena looked around as she quickly remembered that she had spent the night in Astrid's room. Looking around, there appeared to be no sight of the girl at all. Getting out of bed, Serena made her way out of bed and into the room's small kitchen to see Astrid sitting there reading a newspaper.

"Morning," Astrid greeted her teammate as she put the paper down to hand over a plate of pancakes. "They sent meals up for us already. I didn't want to wake you so I left them on the warmer."

"Thanks," Serena replied as she graciously took the plate. Putting a few on a separate plate, Serena then passed the plate back to Astrid who then took some herself. "Today's the big day. The real tournament begins now."

"I know, I'm so excited for it!" Astrid replied while putting her utensils down. "Are you nervous at all?" Serena had been caught off guard by the question. Yes, she told Miette, but no one else should have known.

"Well... Just a little. This is the first time I'll be competing in a tournament. It feels a little overwhelming."

"Just relax and enjoy the moment," Astrid stated sincerely as the duo continued to pick away at their breakfast. Neither of them were really hungry though, the tournament was too much cemented in their minds to even think about eating. "Believe me, you'll wish the week could last forever once the battles begin. This tournament is going to fly by before we know it."

Serena didn't respond at all. Instead she just played with her pancake as she poked it with her fork. Unsure if she was ready for today, Serena let out a silent sigh and decided she had to do her best for not only herself but for Astrid as well. Deciding that she had enough of her now mangled pancake, Serena threw the remains of it away while placing the plate in the sink.

"I'll try to relax. It'll be a fun time for sure though, no matter what happens. But I think I should get ready now," Serena said as she tugged on her pajamas. "I don't think it would look good to show up like this. Where do you want these put?"

"Keep them," the older blonde responded with a wave of her hand. "I've got plenty of extras so one pair isn't going to matter."

Serena quickly thanked the older trainer before grabbing her backpack and heading into the bathroom to change for the day. As she switched her clothes from the sleep wear over to her normal clothes, Serena wondered who Ash's partner could have been.

* * *

"So," Miette started to say as she sat across from Ash in the resort's main lobby. It was oddly empty following how packed it was yesterday. "Do you have a strategy planned for us? It would be a good idea to head into the match with a rough idea on how we battle."

"Not really," he answered as Miette seemed kind of shocked by his words. She had assumed Ash already made an idea up last night. "Well, kind of. But it's hard to explain. Remember last night while we practiced?"

"Yeah," Miette responded with a confused expression. What was Ash hinting at with his idea? "What about it?"

"Well, the way our attacks formed together could be the best idea to use." Ash replied as he thought back to what they tried last night.

 _Back at the banquet hall, most of the new partners had already left to get ready for the opening ceremonies next the day. But, a few stragglers were still behind either eating away or just talking to the other participants. Among them were Ash and Miette._

" _I'm glad I was partnered with you," Miette told him as he ate away at the plate before him. It seemed that no matter how much he ate; he could just keep going. "Being partnered with someone like you will make the tournament interesting."_

" _Thanks, but the person I'm most excited about is that Higana," Ash answered as he put down his food. He wasn't lying either. Someone as strong as her was an exciting chance Ash wanted to have. "If she could beat Alain like that, imagine what else she can do."_

" _Are you worried about facing her?" Miette asked nervously. If Ash was worried about this person, then they had no chance at winning at all._

" _The opposite," he responded excitedly while standing up, fists raised in front of his body. "Facing someone like that will be fun. It'll push us further than before and make us improve!"_

 _Miette couldn't say she was surprised by Ash's response, but it couldn't keep her from smiling. "You really are quite the determined person, Ash. I bet quite a few people admire you for that."_

 _Rubbing the back of his head, Ash let out a nervous chuckle as he looked at Miette. "I wouldn't say that much. I'm just fired up is all! But you know what would really help us? Some training." Ash then stood up as he signaled for Miette to follow him somewhere._

" _That sounds like a great idea," Miette responded as she got up and followed him. It appeared as though Ash already had a location picked as he led her all the way up to the roof._

 _Once outside of the elevator, Miette understood why he had come here. Up on the roof was a practice field so that they could practice for a while._

" _You see; I was thinking we could try to recreate that Cotton Spore combo you pulled off back at the dance party. But, add in a little extra to it. Maybe have Pikachu add in an electric move as you launch the attack off. That way it'll immobilize them and inflict some damage."_

"But, we practiced that the entire night and it didn't work at all," Miette pointed out as Ash scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Well, even if you fail at something, it's kind of like a step towards getting better at it. Sooner or later we'll get it right," he explained while fixing his hat. "You never look back and wonder what could have been. Just keep moving forward until you find something that works!"

"Well, we better be moving forward towards the stadium otherwise we'll be late," Miette teased as she stood up as well. It was now quarter of seven and so they only had roughly fifteen minutes until they had to be at the stadium.

"You ready for this, Pikachu?" Ash asked excitedly as the Electric-Type leapt up onto his shoulder. Together, there was no one who could beat them. "Our first match is going to be today!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as he threw a paw up into the air due to his excitement. It had been way too long since the last time they competed in one.

The duo then left the dining hall as the followed behind their partner towards the stadium. As they passed through the hallway they used last night to get back to the Resort from the stadium, the duo noticed that Higana was standing with the tall man Ash had ran into last night.

"Ah, so we finally meet in person," Zinnia said to the boy as he approached her location. Zinnia had purposely waited in the middle of the hallway so that Ash couldn't walk around her. "I've heard quite the stories about you, Ash."

"You're that powerful trainer from yesterday," Ash responded as he was confused over the fact that Higana waited in the hallway. "And you're that guy from yesterday."

Jinga didn't say anything in response. Instead, he merely huffed in agitation due to his master's interest in the boy. Noticing her partner's rude behavior, Zinnia merely laughed it off.

"You'll have to excuse my partner Jinga," she started to say as a strange smile crossed her face. It appeared to creep Ash and Miette out as they both took a half of a step back. "He doesn't know how to play well with others."

"That's alright, but how exactly did you know who I was?" Ash asked as his interest was piqued. He didn't think that anyone besides his friends would know who he was.

"You have quite the reputation for a boy of your age," Zinnia responded as she narrowed her eyes for a split second. "I guess you could call me your biggest fan. I've been wanting to meet you and luckily we run into each other here," she finished before extending her hand forward.

"Um, well..." Ash muttered, unsure of how to respond to that. He didn't think he had people from Kalos following his previous League achievements. Extending his hand, Ash took Zinnia's into his own and shook it. "Hopefully we get to battle in the tournament then."

"Yes, that would be a privilege. Although I'm perfectly content with just meeting you like this," she answered before pulling her hand back. Zinnia smiled as she looked over her hand. The stories about him were true, he was a very trusting boy. Despite just meeting her, Ash had no doubts about shaking her hand. "Hopefully we meet up again during the tournament."

Turning around, Zinnia soon left the confused boy behind as she walked away with Jinga right behind her. She was happy for what she saw in the boy so far and hopefully she could see more of him in the tournament.

"Master, you never did say what he did that was so impressive," Jinga stated as he was slightly curious about the boy. Despite the obvious problems of placing their hope onto a single boy, he had trusted Zinnia immediately just as the Draconid thought.

"He's got quite a lot of achievements and I don't mean his League rankings of always placing into at least the Top 16 of every League he's competed in. But something even more interesting. There was a rumor I heard one day when I left the village to explore the world."

"While out in the real world, I ran into a woman who I could tell had gone through something tragic," Zinnia continued on explaining as the duo passed by Qawi. Stealing a quick glance, Zinnia looked at the pale man and a feeling of dread crossed over her. Clearing her throat, Zinnia then continued on with her story.

"After talking with the woman, I learned that she had recently been to the Tree of Beginning with a group of trainers. She begged me to not tell anyone out of respect for a Pokémon who gave his life for all of them. But, she had to get the fact that she had been killed off of her chest and told me everything. Everything from meeting an extraordinary trainer named Ash to the way his bonds with his Pokémon allowed Mew to force the tree to revive all of them."

"You must be mistaken, no person, not even a Draconid has returned from the Tree of Beginning. It has been stated that anyone who enters the tree is lost forever!" Jinga practically yelled in shock. It had to be a mistake, no way did he go to the tree.

"It is no mistake, Jinga. I myself didn't believe the young lady. But upon showing me video footage of their time in the Tree, I grew to believe her and her story," Zinnia finished explaining as a cold look crossed her face. It wasn't one of anger but more of determination. One she had seen on his face many times. "That boy is special, as soon as I learned this information I researched the boy. It appeared that although there was no footage to back up local statements, many residents of different towns stated that the boy was involved in different crisis with Legendary Pokémon. Shamouti Island and the Birds of Legend. Greenfield and the Entei of the crystal castle. Alto mare, Larousse City, Alamos Town, Crown City. All the events of those places involved this boy."

"But you yourself stated that there is no proof that it is this boy! It could be a completely different person! There isn't anything special," Jinga continued on although it now sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was Zinnia.

"Jinga, after going through the trials to become leader of the Draconids you learn that seeing doesn't equal believing but that believing is seeing. And I believe that this boy is he."

* * *

"That was strange, I don't know if we should trust those two," Miette muttered out loud once they were out of earshot. The way they appeared to just be waiting for Ash gave her a bad vibe. "The way they seemed so interested in you out of every competitor just doesn't seem right."

"They did seem strange, but I trust them for now," Ash replied as he thought back to the entire conversation that occurred. At no point did Higana seem hostile to him and instead it appeared that she was quite impressed with something he did. "They didn't do anything wrong at all. But I don't know what they have planned." Ash wanted to think over what just happened, but he was interrupted by the sound of a familiar friend.

"Ash! I thought I saw you here!" The voice cried out as Ash turned to meet none other than Sawyer. "Clemont and I were on our way to the stadium when I saw you... But... where's Clemont? I could have sworn he was behind me."

"I... I'm... I'm right here," Clemont muttered as he lagged behind Sawyer. He appeared to be dead from however far they ran, but Bonnie appeared to be helping him by providing a little push from behind.

"Ughh!" The young girl cried out while pushing her older brother forward. "Clemont you really need to get in shape! You'll never impress anyone if you can't run for five minutes without gasping for air."

"I... I don't need... Don't need..." Clemont tried to say between huffs before giving up. Slouching over, Clemont used this time to take deep breaths until he could breathe a little better. "Okay... So maybe I could improve my health a little."

"There you are, Clemont. Sorry about leaving you behind," Sawyer quickly apologized as he rubbed the back of his head. He had gotten so excited from seeing Ash that he forgot all about his partner. "But now we can all head to the stadium together."

However, Ash didn't appear to be paying attention at all. In fact, he looked to be deep in thought and no one except Miette had any idea what it was about. A little worried about his actions, Clemont decided to try and reach out to him.

"Ash... Are you alright?" He asked hesitantly. If this was something important to Ash, Clemont did not want to be responsible for making him lose his focus.

"Huh, what?" Ash asked as he broke his thought process. He had been thinking back to all of his adventures, but nothing really stuck out as impressive to him. Putting on his familiar smile, Ash responded to the group. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something... Um, Clemont, have you seen Serena? She didn't come back to the hotel room last night."

"No, I didn't see her at all," the inventor answered honestly as he too thought about where she might have gone off to. In all the commotion last night he had missed out on seeing Serena's partner. "In fact, she didn't return this morning either. Perhaps she's already at the stadium with her partner."

"Boys," Miette jokingly interrupted as she grabbed the back of Ash's backpack. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation but we are going to be late if we don't get moving!"

"Hehehe, sorry about that," Ash apologized as the group made their way down the hallway and towards the stadium. Deciding to pass the time, Ash picked up a conversation with Sawyer.

"So, Sawyer, how much have you improved? Have you earned anymore badges?"

"Actually, Sceptile just pulled off an amazing victory at the Anistar Gym before coming here. It was hard at first, but once I realized what she had planned I was able to come up with a counter," Sawyer explained before rummaging through his bag to pull out his badge case. Opening it up, Ash noticed the newly placed Psychic Badge sitting inside of the case.

"Wow! Olympia was a hard challenge for Talonflame and Greninja back when he was a Frogadier. It took perfect timing and teamwork to overcome her Future Sight strategy."

"Yeah, I had difficulty in getting the timing down at first. But then the match appeared to get easier once we figured it out."

"That's great to hear" Ash said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Unfortunately I still haven't earned my eighth badge yet. We took a detour so that Serena could compete in the Master Class."

"Once I had heard about this tournament I rushed all the way over here. I figured this way I could continue training against powerful trainers and give my Pokémon some needed experience. And when I got partnered up with Clemont it only made things that much better!"

Having now reached the stadium, Ash and their small group made it the entrance to the stadium from their hallway and paused for a moment. They had just realized they were never told where to head to for the opening ceremonies. Standing around as they were unsure of what to do, the group jumped at the sound of a voice.

"There you are," the announcer from yesterday cried out. He appeared to be out of breath for some reason the others couldn't explain. "We were looking for you to get ready. It's nearly eight. Please, we have to move quickly. The tag-team of Clemont and Sawyer will be walking out of terminal B while the tag-team of Ash and Miette are walking out of terminal C," he explained before signaling them to move along.

"I didn't think we were running that late," Clemont muttered as the group now passed by terminal B. Knowing that this was where they would separate, Clemont and Sawyer said their goodbyes as they went down the hallway in front of them.

Now alone again, as Bonnie had left to sit up in the stands with Squishy and Dedenne, Ash and Miette made their way down the hall in silence as neither of them knew what to talk about. For Ash, he was too busy focusing on what Higana had mentioned early, about how he had quite the reputation. Upon reaching their terminal, the duo quickly ran down it and found the closest attendant.

Sending them in the correct direction, Ash and Miette were soon at the end of a rather long line as they now awaited for their terminal to be sent in. Even from the end of the line, Ash could make out the sounds of the crowd cheering loudly in anticipation.

"Hey," Miette whispered as she caught Ash's attention. Pointing forward, the blue haired Performer managed to show Ash that Zinnia was a few groups ahead of them and she was with Jinga. "It looks like those two got paired together."

"Yeah, but I wonder how good the guy is," Ash whispered back as even in a hushed tone one could hear his excitement. Looking up ahead, he could also make out the pale men from yesterday as well, they were roughly in between where he and Miette stood and where Zinnia and Jinga were positioned.

The two were about to continue on with their little conversation when all of a sudden the floor started to move. Looking around, Ash noticed that the entire terminal was actually part of the field changing mechanism. Rising up into the bright lights of the stadium, Ash and Miette were caught off guard by the sheer amount of people in attendance.

The roars of the crowd appeared to overwhelm them as the duo were both forced to cover their ears for a moment until the cheering died down. Wondering why it became quiet, Ash looked up to see Claude now standing up at the same podium from last night.

"As all of the participants know, today marks the official start of the tournament and the thrill of so many powerful battles," Claude started off as the crowd erupted once more. "32 pairs of trainer will be competing with the title of this year's championship on the line. Now, I don't want to waste much time reiterating things that I explained so if you will, I hereby announce this tournament to begin!"

"Someone's in a rush," Miette joked as she watched the owner get down from the podium to the sound of applause. "They must really want to get this tournament moving."

"Alright all you lovely people! Who's ready to see some breathtaking battles unfold before your eyes?" The announcer from before asked the crowd, receiving an enthusiastic cheer. "That's just what I was hoping to hear from all of you. Now, 32 pairs have entered this tournament and so each day we'll have one round held with the exception of the fifth day where a rest day is awarded to the participants to do as they please. But for now how about some entertainment? The first match will be between Higana and Jinga taking on Colby and Tyke!"

* * *

"Hey, let's go find your friends," Astrid offered as the duo were escorted off of the stadium floor so that the battlefield could be chosen.

"Sure," Serena replied as they took off. Walking along the corridors of the waiting area, the two girls made their way through the crowd as the very first match began in the background. Deciding to take glances every now and then, the two noticed just how skilled Higana and Jinga were.

The two partners were making quick work of their opponents and with little difficulty as well. To the crowd, Higana and her Salamence were unbelievable as the duo managed to control the entire match right from the beginning.

"Those two are something else," Astrid finally said as Serena jumped from the sudden noise. "Higana and her partner, it seems like they know each other from somewhere. That gives them an amazing edge in a tournament like this one," she finished explaining as Jinga and his Slowbro took down Colby's Medicham with a powerful Mega Punch.

"If they have a past history, they'll be much more in tune with each other making their strategies that much more deadly," Astrid finished as she placed a hand on her hip. She was now looking forward for the chance to face these two.

"Dragon Rush!" Higana's voice boomed over the TV as her Salamence rammed into tyke's Abomasnow. The Ice and Grass-Type was defeated upon impact, shocking the entire crowd due to how fast it went.

"And that's it!" The announcer declared as he ran down to the edge of the field. "The team of Higana and Jinga advance thanks to their overwhelming brute strength!" Serena continued to watch the screen as Higana appeared to thank her opponents for the battle.

"They're really strong..." Serena muttered, completely unsure if she could even compete at a tenth of their level.

"And we're just as strong if not stronger," Astrid responded with as she raised her arms up to her sides. Serena couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. Astrid reminded her a lot about Ash at times by how optimistic the girl could be. Speaking of Ash, it sounded like she could actually hear him right now.

"Serena!" The sound started to grow in volume the longer Serena listened. Turning around, the Pokémon Performer saw the boy she liked running over towards her.

"I finally found you," he joked while catching his breath. Serena wondered just how long he could have actually been looking for her, especially since she had spent the night in Astrid's room. "So, you're partnered with Astrid?"

"Yeah, she's a great partner," Serena started to say as Astrid just rubbed the back of her neck out of embarrassment. "She's quite the trainer when it comes to battles and she's planning on competing at the Kalos League."

"You are?!" Ash asked as he locked eyes with the female trainer. He knew Astrid was strong back when they first battled, but he wondered just how much more powerful her team had gotten now thanks to her training. "I guess we might have a rematch there."

"I'd watch out if I were you Ash, Astrid isn't someone to take lightly," Serena joked around as she then noticed that Ash was all by himself. "Uhh, Ash. Where's your partner?"

Ash seemed confused by the question as he looked around. Based on his reaction he must have thought whoever his partner was had followed him here, but he must have lost them on the way over. "That's strange, she was just with me."

"Ash's partner is right here," Serena heard someone whisper into her ear. Turning her head just slightly, Serena could see Miette gripping on her shoulder as she continued whispering. "Being Ash's partner for the week means I'll be spending a lot of time with him. Perhaps I'll finally have that talk."

As soon as Miette said those words, Serena's entire face lit up in a deep blush. There was no way she was letting Miette get the chance to beat her in their competition. Luckily, Serena managed to get her face back under control before anyone saw, or at least she thought. However, Astrid had seen the whole thing and was now wearing a slight smirk on her face.

"Y-You're not serious, are you?" Serena asked nervously as he started to sweat a little. Out of everyone who could have been partnered up with Ash it just had to be her.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to take good care of him," she responded with a smirk while placing a hand on Serena's shoulder. She never got tired of this, Serena was too easy to mess with at times. "Perhaps Ash and I will grow closer from this."

" _It's pretty obvious now what's happening,"_ the female trainer thought before introducing herself. Things appeared to calm down after that as everyone made their way off to a nearby waiting room. Sitting down in the nice seats, the group of four waited for their turns. Off in the background, the sounds of the tournament could be heard as the battles continued to move on.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Serena heard her own name be called for a change. "The team of Astrid and Serena will be facing Curtis and Shawn!"

"Serena, we're finally up," Astrid said as she stood up from the chair she was sitting in and made her way to her partner. Together, the duo made their way over to the corridor that would bring them down to the field.

"Yeah..." Serena muttered as she nervously stood up. It wasn't the best timing to learn that Miette was Ash's partner, she would have rather found out following her match.

"Good luck, Serena!" Ash called out as the two girls walked out of the room. Turning around, Serena smiled at her friend as he returned it with a smile of his own and a thumbs up. "I know you'll do great!"

"Thanks, Ash! I'll give it my all out there," she replied cheerfully before walking out in a rush. Making their way back down the hall, Astrid and Serena soon made their way out onto the field much to the crowd's excitement.

"It's time to get this match going!" The announcer exclaimed as two guys appeared across from them standing in the separate terminal. One appeared to be dressed up in a lab outfit while his partner had a normal shirt and jeans on with a leather jacket on top. He also appeared to have a guitar swung around his shoulder.

"This match features a battle of the sexes as the female team of Astrid and Serena faces off against the bros of hard work, Curtis and Shawn! If both teams could select their Pokémon we could then get this show on the road!" As the announcer finished his statement, the four trainers all watched as the field rose up out of the bottomless pit below them.

"And the field is a Glacier field!" And that it was. Looking at the field, Serena saw that the entirety of it was a sheet of ice with large icicles sticking up all over the field. On both sides of it, were two large glacial structures and right in the middle of the field appeared to be a small pool where chunks of ice appeared to take on the form of rafts.

"Go!" The two males cried out simultaneously as an Ariados and Electrode appeared in front of them. It appeared that this battle was going to already be harder than Serena thought due to the two Pokémon chosen and the ice on the field.

Clenching her blue ribbon, Serena could feel her heart start to increase its rhythm as it felt like it was ready to burst out of her chest due to her nervousness. Gripping her Poké Ball with her free hand, Serena couldn't stop her hand from shaking uncontrollably.

"Just follow the plan. Everything will go just fine," Astrid promised before placing a hand on Serena's shoulder. She then reached for a Poké Ball of her own as the duo tossed them forward.

Appearing in front of the girls were none other than their signature Pokémon Absol and Braixen. Seeing that everyone was ready to begin, the referee signaled for the start of the battle.

"Alright, Absol, let's start off strong! Attack with Shadow Claw!"

"Sol!" The Disaster Pokémon agreed before running across the icy field and towards its opponents. Even with the amount of ice located on the field's floor, Absol showed off its years of hard training by maneuvering on top of the ice and using it as a way to increase its own momentum

Reaching the center of the field in an astonishing short amount of time, Absol launched himself over the pool of water and right into the air as his front paws started to glow black. Soon, that energy manifested itself into two large black claws that extended off of Absol.

"You won't get us that easily! Electrode rock their systems with Thunderbolt!"

"Quick, Braixen, cancel it out with Flamethrower!"

The two Pokémon launched their respective attacks and everyone could only watch as the two attacks collided right in front of Absol. Smoke filled the field as everyone wondered what could have happened down on the field.

Then, much to their excitement a loud cry could be heard erupting out of the smoke cloud as Absol escaped it completely unharmed. Slamming its claws down hard onto Electrode, Absol then pushed off of the Electric-Type and soared high into the sky.

"Fire Blast!" Serena's command had come as a complete shock to the two boys. They had become so concerned about Absol, that they forgot about Braixen. Looking up, the boys managed to just catch the end of the attack as the large blast slammed into their Pokémon which sent them flying back.

"And keep them on the run, Dark Pulse!" Astrid continued on as the two girls kept their opponents guessing as to who would be attacking when.

Now that Absol was starting its descent, the Dark-Type opened its mouth and fired off the black and purple beam of energy as it crashed into the icy floor before continuing on and crashing into Electrode. Landing on top of one of the glaciers, Absol stared down at the two Pokémon.

"Hey! You think you'll actually do something!" Shawn yelled over at his partner while Electrode rolled right side up. "You haven't done anything since the battle started!"

"Patience, it takes a while to come up with calculations," Curtis responded as he stared intently at the duo of Absol and Astrid. "Now, the Absol trainer is the one we worry about first. She appears to be the better of the two since she initiated the battle. Meanwhile, Braixen has only been providing support from afar."

"You got something cooking up there?"

"Perhaps, but I'll need a few minutes. Can you last that long?"

"Yeah! We'll rock them with our electrical tenacity until you're ready to roll," Shawn replied as he pumped his left fist into the air. "Electrode, use Light Screen!"

The Electric-Type immediately glowed a shade of yellow for a split second before a large screen appeared in front of the two Pokémon before vanishing just as quickly.

"Light Screen," Astrid muttered as she placed a hand on her hip. This was going to be a lot more difficult if their Special based moves weren't going to inflict the same damage. "Okay, time to try something different since as long as Light Screen is active, our moves won't be as effective."

"What do you have in mind?" Serena asked as the duo waited to see if anything else was going to be used.

"Follow my lead," Astrid responded with a sly smirk. Twisting her arms around before throwing them forward, Astrid issued the next command. "Okay, Absol, get in close and then use Megahorn!"

"Braixen follow right behind Absol and use Scratch!"

Braixen wasn't as skilled as Absol had been when it came to moving on the ice and so the Fire-Type appeared to struggle with her movements as a result of it. Slipping around the field, until finally making it over to the other side of the field.

Both Pokémon now lunged forward as Absol's horn grew in size and Braixen's claws glowed white. The two Pokémon were about to land their blows when Curtis chuckled a little.

"You two were too predictable, Ariados, Sucker Punch!" Vanishing for a split second, the Bug and Poison-Type reappeared in front of the two attacking Pokémon as he jabbed his legs into their stomachs.

"I had a feeling that with Light Screen up, that you would both try to attack from nearby. So, we just had to wait for the time to strike. Now, Poison Jab!"

"Electrode use Thunder!"

Ariados moved swiftly again as the Bug and Poison-Type used his surprise attack from before to smash his now purple appendix right into Braixen's stomach. The Fire-Type was launched backwards from the attack and landed right in front of Absol.

"Quick, get both of you out of there!" Astrid quickly reasoned as Absol tossed Braixen up onto its back before avoiding the Thunder attack. The gigantic bolt of lightning's power surprised both Serena and Astrid as it managed to completely shatter the ice in that spot, leaving just shards of ice on top of some metal.

"That was too close, they're stronger than I originally thought,"

"I'm sorry, Astrid, it was my fault we almost got hit by the Thunder," Serena stated as she squeezed her fists by her sides. "If I had reacted faster, Braixen wouldn't have been hit by that Poison Jab."

"There was nothing you could have done. We were both surprised by it and there was nothing either of us could have done," she explained as Serena looked up. The older girl didn't seem upset at all. Instead she just stood there, hands raised by her sides with a look of enjoyment on her face. This was what she enjoyed, a hard fought battle.

"Now though, we need to find a way to actually beat them. As long as Light Screen is active, our ranged attacks won't do much damage and Ariados makes it nearly impossible to attack from close by."

Looking at the field, a different idea had come to Serena. If they couldn't attack them at the moment, why not use the field to their advantage? Noticing just how close the two Pokémon were to the glaciers, Serena decided to try something different.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower on the Glacier! Break them into chunks of ice!" Jumping backwards and spinning her branch around, Braixen fired off the stream of flames and watched as they smashed into the large ice structure. Cracking the glacier just enough, chunks of ice broke off of it and fell down onto the two Pokémon.

"Great thinking, Serena," Astrid praised her partner who immediately had a light blush on her face. Astrid never would have thought of something like that in a battle. She had to figure out where Serena learned to use the field like that. "I think it's time to end this," she began to say as she moved her right hand.

Curtis' eyes appeared to light up with joy upon seeing her move in that direction. It was just the opening he needed to get everything to work properly. "String Shot, Ariados! Quick! Stop her from Mega-Evolving!"

The sticky substance flew across the field quickly as it appeared from the pile of broken ice. Smashing into Absol, the Disaster Pokémon was carried into the other glacier and was stuck against it. Ariados wasn't finished there though, another round of the substance came forward and smacked into Astrid and Serena of all people.

The substance wrapped around the two girls as they realized immediately what happened. They were tied together and their movements were restricted because of it.

"They just attacked the trainers!" Ash cried out as he jumped out of his seat. He had been watching the match with excitement, clearly proud of how Serena has handling the battle when he saw the String Shot tie around the two girls. "That's against the rules!"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" A strange voice asked as Qawi appeared from the shadows of the waiting room. Ash was surprised at his appearance of even being in this room at all. "It's one of the twists. Everyone noticed it during the earlier battles when the referee didn't disqualify anyone for attacking the other trainers. It appears as long as it is non-lethal it's fair game to try and disrupt your opponents."

"That isn't right! They shouldn't have been able to do that," Ash stated through grit teeth. It wasn't fair to attack the trainer as well. "Why didn't they announce it when it first occurred!?"

"Perhaps if you had read the rules you would have known," Qawi stated in a cold manner as he turned to leave. "It stated that the tournament was not required to explain any surprises if they so choose to. They want to see which trainers can pick up on it."

"Well, everyone should at least have an agreement to not do it!" Ash shot back as he appeared to glare at the TV screen when it showed Curtis snickering. "In a real battle you wouldn't get away with this!"

"This isn't a real battle," Qawi responded with a smirk. He was glad this was in effect since now he could go all out. "Anything goes in a tournament like this. Only the strongest will survive until the very end. Listen, you can complain all you'd like, but it won't matter. The rules are set and they are what they are. So get over it and just shut up," Qawi finished as he walked away from the steaming mad boy.

"Serena..." Ash muttered as he looked on in concern now. He was worried that his friend was in deep trouble now, but a part of him knew better and believed in her. "Win!" He yelled confidently before giving a thumbs up to the TV screen.

"Astrid, are you alright?" Serena asked as she tried to look over at her partner. Unfortunately, they were tied together, back to back and so Serena couldn't see her at all.

"Mhmmm," Astrid tried to mumble out. To Serena's surprise, it appeared as if Astrid had been hit in the mouth as well to avoid her from being able to talk.

Growing nervous, Serena didn't know if she could handle this all on her own. Looking over at her opponents, it appeared that Curtis was snickering away. "What's so funny? Why'd you attack us?" She demanded, yet the boy only laughed away.

"Nothing, just the look on your face. Your expression tells me that you didn't pick up on the fact that we're also in the battle," Curtis answered as he placed his hands in his lab coat pockets. "Every battle before ours involved the trainers somehow being involved in the attacks, yet never once did the officials put a stop to it."

"So that means... We can attack the other trainers as well?" It sounded completely stupid to Serena, but for ratings it made sense. Seeing the trainers being involved as well made it even more interesting.

"My, you're more than just a cute face after all, because your battling skills said otherwise," Curtis spoke as his smirk turned to a glare. "And now that Absol and its trainer are disposed of it'll be easy pickings with you."

"Haha! Time to rock out, Electrode!" Shawn stated before playing a chord on his guitar. "Use Thunderbolt!" The Electric-Type quickly stored up electricity as its entire body glowed yellow before firing off the bolt.

"Dodge, Braixen!" Serena cried out in a rush. Nearly slipping on the ice, the Fox Pokémon managed to barely slide away from the electrical blast as Serena tried to come up with a plan. "Okay, try using a Fire Blast!"

"There's no use in battling anymore. I calculated all of the possible outcomes and your victory is under .02 percent. Just forfeit now and avoid the embarrassment. Now, Hyper Beam!"

Ariados charged up the black beam before firing the blast at full power. Colliding with the Fire Blast, the two attacks caused a shock wave throughout the entire field as the glaciers all cracked. Chunks of ice fell everywhere as they formed what appeared to now be stepping stones while others fell into the water and splashed it onto Ariados.

"Great job, brain boy!" Shawn stated with a smile. "Now, Electrode, Thunder! He began to say, only to be smacked behind the head.

"You, idiot! The area around us is soaked in water. Launching an attack like that will only hurt us as well. Think before attacking next time!" Curtis yelled, obviously infuriated with his partner.

"Alright, how about a Sonic Boom instead?" He asked to receive an affirming head nod. Excited over the approval, Electrode started to spin at a rapid pace as soundwaves started to shoot off of it.

"Quick, Braixen, use those chunks of ice as stepping stones! Avoid the attack by jumping on the chunks, then use Flamethrower!" Jumping right as a Sonic Boom was about to hit, Braixen landed on top of the ice chunks and continuously dodged each and every blast. Then, once she was near the pool of water Braixen jumped high into the air and fired off the attack.

The Flamethrower blasted right into Electrode and the Electric-Type was backwards and lodged into one of the two glaciers. Landing in front of the pool, Braixen twirled her branch as she got ready for another attack.

"You know; I'm getting tired of the same old tunes. Thunder!" Shawn cried out as he threw his arms up over his head. Electrode started to charge up an electrical current once more and Serena saw her chance.

"Hidden Power on the pool! Quick, Braixen!" Twirling her branch, Braixen fired off three spheres into the pool as they a large wave was created. The water then splashed down onto Ariados, drenching the Pokémon as the wave continued to roll on until splashing Electrode.

Shawn tried to cancel the command, but it was too late. Launching off the Thunder, Electrode was unaware of the water and watched in confusion as its attack traveled along the ground and struck Ariados.

"Ariados! Please be alright!" Curtis cried out as his Bug and Poison-Type was burnt to a crisp from the attack.

"Don't forget about us now!" Astrid's voice could be heard as all eyes turned to the two females. To everyone's surprise, Braixen had cut the two trainers and Absol free from their restraints. "Now, Mega-Evolve!"

Touching her right earring, Astrid waited as a bright light shone off of the piece of jewelry and met halfway with a similar light shining from Absol. The Dark-Type started to change shape as its fur became more tuft and two wings formed on its backside.

Letting out a mighty roar, Absol was now ready to end this battle. "Great! Now, Dark Pulse!"

"Braixen you use Flamethrower!"

Absol opened its mouth and charged up the attack while Braixen twirled her branch around. Launching the black and purple beam, Absol managed to hit Ariados directly as the Bug and Poison-Type was thrown into Electrode. The Flamethrower then followed right behind as the Fire-Type attack crashed into the two Pokémon. Serena wasn't finished just yet though.

"Now, Braixen, Fire Blast!" Jumping around on the ice chunks, Braixen performed a little dance before launching the giant blast. Ramming into the two tired Pokémon, an explosion occurred on impact and when the dust finally settled, the match had been decided.

"And that does it folks!" The announcer cried out as he ran onto the field to get a better look. "Electrode and Ariados are unable to battle! Advancing on is the team of Astrid and Serena!"

"We... We did it..." Serena huffed out before dropping onto her knees, exhausted from the stress of the battle. "We... Actually won..."

"Yeah," Astrid replied as she dropped to the ground as well, panting from exhaustion as their Pokémon soon joined them. "It was harder than I thought, but we did it. And we'll do it again next round."

"Yeah, just don't get yourself tied up again. I can't carry our team forever," Serena joked as the duo leaned up against each other and started laughing. That was when a thought hit her, she did just carry them in this match from the moment they were tied.

That one thought led to another as a smile slowly formed on her face. _"Maybe I do belong here,"_ she thought to herself as the duo continued laughing.

* * *

 **Well, that was an interesting battle. The whole point of being able to attack the other trainers is in the same sense as how in sports fans try to disrupt the players to make them mess up. It's the same sense, since if you're constantly wondering if an attack is coming for you how are you going to focus on the battle? Plus, it also shows how not everyone here is morally correct since the majority of trainers would never think to do something like that.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you enjoyed and how I can improve the story.**


	5. Monsters

**Welcome back everyone. Last time we left off, the team of Serena and Astrid managed to win after Absol and Astrid had been temporarily taken out by the other team. That's about all I've got this time...**

 **Ch 5: Monsters**

* * *

"And the match between Clemont and Sawyer and their opponents Sylvester and Tiffany appears to be coming to a close! After a heated back and forth battle, there are five minutes remaining in the match!" The announcer cried out before double checking his watch.

Sawyer and Clemont were battling it out on the canyon field against their opponents who were using a Trevenant and Pelipper while they were going with Luxray and Sceptile. The field had been split down the middle to resemble a canyon while there had been a large plateau to use as a to cross if you're Pokémon couldn't fly across the gap. The beginning of the match had been going back and forth due to Trevenant and its Phantom Force attack, but over time the duo had managed to overcome it, knocking the Grass and Ghost-Type out with a powerful Dragon Pulse from Sceptile and turn the match around.

"Okay, Luxray, use Wild Charge on Pelipper!" Clemont cried out as the Electric-Type charged across the rocky texture while his body was enveloped in electrical currents. Surrounded with electrical energy, Luxray leapt off of the plateau and rammed itself right into the Water Bird Pokémon.

"Pelipper no!" Tiffany cried out as her Water and Flying-Type was thrown into the ground. It looked to be over, but the Water Bird Pokémon straightened itself out. "Great, use Aerial Ace!"

"Did you forget about us!?" Sawyer's voice could be heard as Sceptile slammed a hard Leaf Blade down onto the Water and Flying-Type and sent it flying down towards Luxray. "Okay, end this with Swift, Luxray!"

Swiping his tail to the front of his body, Luxray summoned forth a large group of stars and had them all sail right at the falling Pelipper. Upon contact with the Normal-Type attack an explosion occurred and the entire audience watched as a defeated Pelipper was now falling straight towards the canyon.

"Luxray, go and catch Pelipper!" Clemont commanded as he wiped a few drops of sweat off of his face. It wouldn't be good if Pelipper fell down into the canyon having already fainted. Running as fast as he could, Luxray sprinted across the field before leaping across the large gap.

Catching Pelipper on his back, Luxray managed to make onto the other side but not before tumbling across the field before coming to a stop.

"Good work, Luxray," Clemont praised the Electric-Type as he stood back up, a little sore after the tumble.

"And that does it folks! Clemont and Sawyer are advancing on!" The announcer declared as he quickly thanked Clemont and Luxray for catching Pelipper. It appeared they hadn't designed the canyon field properly due to the safety concerns of the drop.

"That was a great idea, Sawyer," Clemont told the rookie trainer while recalling Luxray. "I would have never thought to use Luxray as a way to make Pelipper lower its guard. The way you had Sceptile wait patiently was excellent as well."

"I only managed to come up with it thanks to the way you had Sceptile purposely allow Trevenant to attack us so that Sceptile could grab it."

Turning around, the duo made their way back down the corridor and were now heading for the waiting room that they had seen Serena and Astrid head down. Together, the duo were talking about future strategies to use in the upcoming matches and at this point, Sawyer's notebook was proving to be filled with useful information.

"Still, even then Sceptile managed to time the Dragon Pulse just right. If he had been a split second too late then who knows how the battle would have played out. You really have trained him exceedingly well."

Despite the joyful mood between the two trainers, the atmosphere in the hallway had a different vibe to it. The place was deserted, something that Clemont noted as strange due to the number of trainers who had just been here but that wasn't all. It felt like anger radiated through the halls and the further they walked, the more they could feel it. Turning around the corner, Clemont had to stop in his tracks as he almost walked straight into another person.

"I'm terribly sorry about that, sir," the blond inventor stated with a slight bow of his head. Looking up however, Clemont was immediately scared by the man's reaction. It appeared as if whoever this person was, they were having a horrible day as their stared at Clemont with what felt like piercing eyes.

If looks could actually kill someone, then Clemont would have been dead the moment he made eye contact with the man. It appeared he wanted nothing to do with Clemont as he just snorted in agitation before walking past them. Then, to Clemont and Sawyer's worry, the guy stopped walking and faced them.

"That was stupid," he said to them as Clemont and Sawyer finally got a good look at him not that he was in the light. They recognized him immediately as that Qawi man. "Saving that Pelipper was a horrible decision."

Clemont couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man would rather see a Pokémon fall deep into a canyon than for them to save it. Not sure how to react, Clemont stood there with his mouth slightly agape

"It shows that you're weak. Doing what was right instead of necessary for the victory," he continued on with a smirk that sent shivers down the duo's backs. "What if you got attacked while saving that waste of a Pokémon? You were wide open for an attack, ever think of that?"

"The battle was already over and so we helped her out. There was no way I was letting Pelipper fall down that canyon!"

Smiling, Qawi let out a slight chuckle. "You have a good heart Lumiose Gym Leader, but that is where your faults lye. Helping the weak is a double edged sword. On one end, it helps them make it through this rat hole of game we call life. And the other only stiffens their growth. Making the weak rely on hand outs from those around them, never being able to grow into the person they were meant to be."

"You could chalk it up to fate dealing you a bad hand, but eventually you've ran out of time and money. This is why you fools made a mistake. The weak need to learn to adapt, grow without the need of someone waiting to help them back up. Those that cannot grow and become stronger do not deserve the suffering and punishment they go through every day. And one day, I'll make their suffering end."

"But helping others isn't wrong," Sawyer argued as he pulled his notebook out and showed Qawi pages filled with his notes on everything he's encountered. "These notes... These notes are everything I've ever learned as my time as a trainer. Information I learned through the help of others. Stuff I would have never learned by myself. Without their help I wouldn't have grown stronger!" He practically yelled as images of his time in Laverre City flashed by. If it hadn't been for that chance meeting with Ash, who knows where he would be right now.

"You don't understand at all child," Qawi responded as his smile faded away and changed to a frown. "Being weak and strong is not something you can control. It's a matter of black and white. You became strong because you were already strong inside. You possessed the qualities of a strong person. The strength to overcome your problems through knowledge was how you were strong. The weak will always be weak just as a Ditto is always a Ditto. It doesn't matter who you try to emulate, you'll always be the same thing no matter what. The strong will rise up over their problems, not allowing anything to stand in their way. Wanting to prove something to everyone, the strong will go to insurmountable heights to prove their worth to this world. Meanwhile, the weak are unable to do anything on their own. Looking for handouts and using excuses for their failures instead of working to overcome it. The weak do not have the drive and determination that those who are strong possess."

"And the weak know that, struggling through life only to see their hardships amount to nothing while the strong only grow stronger. Life is unfair and that is why the weak must cease to exist. It's for their own good. No more tribulations or hardship. And once I win this tournament my dreams will become a reality."

Qawi didn't wait for any responses, instead he turned back around and was gone before anyone could answer. "Those fools. Believing that the weak can survive. When everything and everyone is against you... There is no way to win in that situation."

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Rang in the background as the TV played the next match. Stealing a glance at the TV, Qawi smirked as a small object in his hand reacted to the Thunderbolt attack.

"Now that's strength..." he muttered to himself before placing the device back in his pocket and walking off to who knows where.

"And what an opening attack from Ash and Pikachu! Their Thunderbolt has managed to strike both Gurdurr and Buizel head on!" The announcer cried out as the battle continued to play in the background. The Electric-Type could be seen landing back onto the forest floor.

Right now Ash and Miette had been battling on the forest field with Pikachu and Slurpuff while their opponents, a boy and a girl who both looked older than Ash, had went with the previously mentioned Pokémon.

"Buizel use Water Gun!" Its trainer cried out as the Sea Weasel Pokémon launched off the stream of water and aimed it right at Slurpuff.

"Gurdurr, use Stone Edge!" The Muscular Pokémon's trainer called out as stones formed all around it. Throwing its arms outward, the Fighting-Type threw the stones right at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, into the trees!" Ash commanded as his best friend leapt over the Stone Edge attack. Landing up in the trees, Pikachu was now completely hidden from both of his opponents as he ran around in the trees.

"Slurpuff, stop that Water Gun with Psychic!" Glowing blue for a split second, Slurpuff managed to stop the incoming attack just before it managed to hit her as the stream of water was now floating in midair. "Perfect, now make it rain!"

"Slur..." The Fairy-Type muttered as the stream of water was lifted up above the field. Forming it into the shape of a sphere, the audience watched in amazement as the entire sphere burst. The after effect made it appear as if it had begun raining. Water flew down over the field as the three visible Pokémon were drenched in water.

"Now, Ash, here's your chance!" Miette told her partner as a smirk crossed over his face. It really had worked out perfectly too, as now Pikachu could fire off a super charged Thunderbolt.

"Alright! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"And Slurpuff, power it up with Fairy Wind!"

The two Pokémon launched their respective attacks as their opponents could only look in disappear. If Pikachu's last Thunderbolt had been strong, this one was even stronger. Upon hitting the falling water, the electric attack gained momentum by traveling through the droplets and was only aided by the extra push from Fairy Wind.

Crashing down hard onto Gurdurr and Buizel, and explosion occurred as trees were knocked over from the blast and smoke filled the sky. Unsure of what happened, Ash was caught off guard when Gurdurr came out of the smoke and smashed Pikachu with a Dynamic Punch. The Electric-Type flew backwards, only stopping thanks to Slurpuff catching him with Psychic.

"Thanks for the quick thinking, Miette," Ash said as he rubbed under his nose. He was sure that the attack would have been enough to finish off their opponents.

"We're partners, so of course I'll cover your back," Miette replied with a slight wink as she swung her arm across her body. "Now, Slurpuff, use Energy Ball!"

"Gurdurr counter with Focus Blast!"

The two sphere moves collided in the middle of the field as once again smoke flew all over from the explosion. Then, without any warning, Buizel shot through the cloud enveloped in water and smashed right into Pikachu and Slurpuff. The two Pokémon then flew backwards until finally coming to a stop due to the tree they landed against.

"Miette, I have an idea. Can Slurpuff manage to use Psychic on a move like Cotton Spore?" Ash asked as he glanced over at his partner. Off on the field, Gurdurr was now throwing multiple Dynamic Punches at their Pokémon. Luckily Pikachu and Slurpuff were able to dodge them, but every time they did, they would be smashed into by Buizel and its Aqua Jet attack.

"Yeah, but why?" Miette asked as a puzzled expression appeared on her face. What exactly could Ash be wanting to use Cotton Spore for at the moment.

"Could you do it right now? I think we'll be able to pull off that combo!" Ash stated proudly as he raised a fist in front of his body. "Now, Pikachu, no matter what happens, protect Slurpuff!"

"Okay, Ash, we'll get right to it," the blue haired Performer said as a smile crossed her face. "Now, Slurpuff, use Cotton Spore and follow it up with Psychic!"

Slurpuff did as she was asked and formed the large spores as they covered the floor of the field. Usually a move used for defensive purposes, the crowd was fascinated by what Ash and Miette were trying to do. Once the Cotton Spore had been completed, Slurpuff immediately raised them into the air through the use of Psychic.

To hers and everyone else's surprise, the Cotton Spore was growing in size the longer Buizel used Aqua Jet to soar through the forest. That was exactly what Ash had planned; using the moisture in the air from the Aqua Jet, the Cotton Spore would grow in size as it absorbed the moisture making a Thunderbolt attack even stronger.

"I think I understand now, Ash. Now, Slurpuff, catch Buizel in that Cotton Spore!"

"Slur!" Slurpuff cried out as she moved the Cotton Spore around until Buizel slammed right into the substance. Caught within it, the Water-Type couldn't escape from its sticky confinements and could only watch as it was slammed down onto Pikachu and Gurdurr.

All three Pokémon were trapped within the Cotton Spore attack, but that was what Ash wanted. Throwing a punch forward, Ash called out to Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika... Chuuuuuu!" The Mouse Pokémon yelled out as sparks of electricity flew from his cheeks. Spreading throughout the cotton, both Buizel and Gurdurr was electrocuted from the blast and could do nothing but now sit trapped within the electrically charged substance.

"Now, Slurpuff, get Pikachu out of there with Psychic," Glowing blue once more, Slurpuff lifted Pikachu out of the Cotton Spore attack and placed him right next to her as they both shared a smirk. "And, Energy Ball!"

"You use Electro Ball, Pikachu!"

The two Pokémon charged up their sphere attacks before firing them off. With no way to run, both Gurdurr and Buizel watched as the duel spheres crashed right into them, knocking them out upon exploding.

"And that's it!" The announcer cried out as he ran onto the field. "Buizel and Gurdurr are unable to battle! Advancing on are Ash and Miette!"

"Yeah! We did it!" Ash cried out as he and Miette high fived each other while Pikachu and Slurpuff copied the action. "You were amazing out there, Miette! You too, Slurpuff and Pikachu! The way you managed to hold the Cotton Spore despite the increase in size was great."

Miette just blushed at Ash's words before placing her hands behind her back. "I was just listening to the best partner out there. It was your great skills that led to the attack combo," she playfully added in as the duo walked back down the corridor. As they walked down the corridor, the duo spotted a waiting Serena who had a large smile on her face.

"Ash," Serena called out as she ran up to her crush. Upon seeing the end results, Serena had run to the end of the corridor to congratulate him, but upon seeing how him and Miette were laughing playfully her heart began to ache.

"I... I just wanted to say you battled great out there," she managed to say despite the fear in her head that Bonnie was right. "The way Pikachu battled was so amazing."

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without Miette and Slurpuff. They created the large Cotton Spore for Pikachu to super charge with electricity," Ash responded as he rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "But, now that we advanced, the only ones left are Shauna and Trevor."

"They're battling in the last match if I remember correctly," Miette stated as she placed a finger on her chin. She had stolen a quick glance at the bracket but it had vanished from the scoreboard just as quickly as it had appeared.

* * *

"And now our final match is set to begin! In this match we have the teams of Qawi and Tamal taking on the likes of Trevor of and Shauna!" The announcer cried out as Ash and the others made their way over to some open seats, deciding to watch the matches in person instead of staying in the waiting room.

"Shauna and Trevor have to be very careful with these two," Clemont muttered as he adjusted his glasses to get a clearer view. "They can't afford to mess around with them at all."

"Trevs will be just fine. He's grown quite a bit," Tierno stated proudly as he folded his arms over his chest. "And Shauna is no slouch either. I think it's going to be a rather quick match for them."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself just yet, Tierno," Clemont responded as he shook his head back and forth. Clemont still had a clear memory of the entire conversation from earlier with Qawi and it worried him quite a bit. "He doesn't seem like such an easy person to beat."

"Alright everyone! The battle is getting started and our field has been chosen! Today these two teams will be battling it out on a Sahara field! There isn't much to it in use of strategy since all around is just sand! We'll have to see how the competitors make use of the only body of water for miles!"

"Alright, Ivysaur, you're up."

"Charizard, let's go!"

The two Kanto starter evolutions landed on the sandy field with a light thud as they stared at their opponents. Wondering just what they could be using the two Pokémon appeared to be growing anxious.

Qawi and Tamal however didn't seem to be impressed by the Pokémon before them. In fact, they appeared to be rather bored based on the yawn that Qawi had. Narrowing his eyes, Qawi gave a cold stare down to his two opponents as he raised a Poké Ball.

"I'll give you both one chance to forfeit the match right now," he said calmly while lowering his head. "I am only here to weed the weak out. If you do not forfeit and give up, then I cannot confirm or deny that any harm will come to you."

Gulping at the man's request, Trevor and Shauna both looked at each other as they felt sweat running down their necks. Knowing that there was no way they would forfeit before the match began, the duo both declined the rather odd offer.

"Very well, but this is the only time in the tournament that I'll be this kind. It goes against my views of the weak," he explained before a sinister smirk crossed his face. "It's time to get going then! Pyroar!"

"Dis mean I can go all out?" The other man who must have been Tamal asked. Receiving nothing but a head nod of approval, the bulky man had a sickening grin form across his face. "Goody, that boy needs wake-up call!" Cracking his neck, the sound of it echoed throughout the stadium, slightly scaring the audience from the intensity of it. "Aggron!"

The Steel and Rock-Type emerged on the field right next to his partner's Pyroar. Even the two Pokémon shared the same exact looks as their trainers and it caused both Trevor and Shauna, along with their Pokémon, to take half a step back. It seemed like these guys were crazy.

Before they had even recovered from the strange offer, or more of a threat in the minds of everyone else, Qawi was already on the move. Issuing his first command, the pale man threw a fist up into the air.

"Pyroar, crush them all! Start off with Hyper Voice!"

Letting off a ferocious roar, sound waves erupted from Pyroar's mouth and shook the entire field. Sand blew around as it battered both Pokémon and trainers as they were battered by not only the sand but Pyroar's attack.

"That's powerful," Trevor muttered as he was pushed back a few steps by the blast. Stepping back up to the edge of the field, Trevor shielded his eyes from the sand. "Charizard, Flamethrower!

"Flash Cannon!" Tamal called out quickly as Aggron charged its attack.

The two Pokémon launched their respective attacks with raw power as Aggron's Flash Cannon smashed into the front of Charizard's Flamethrower. Caught off guard by the attack, Trevor paid no attention to the now attacking Pyroar.

"You need to pay better attention to your surroundings! Flamethrower!" Qawi roared out as fire enveloped Pyroar's mouth. Pouncing in front of Charizard, The Royal Pokémon launched the attack at Charizard's side causing the Fire and Flying-Type to fall over.

"Trevor, Charizard!" Shauna called out in concern as Charizard was getting back up. "Ivysaur, use Energy Ball!"

Opening its mouth, the Grass and Poison-Type launched the green energy orb right at Aggron and watched as the attack smashed into the Steel and Rock-Type.

"Nice shot, Ivysaur. A direct hit," Shauna praised as they waited for the smoke to clear from the previous attack, however, the sight of a perfectly fine Aggron.

"Tickled?" Tamal asked as he received an affirmative grunt from his Pokémon. It appeared he wasn't the most literate based on how he spoke. "Double-Edge! Crush puny girl."

"Charizard stop him with Flamethrower!" Trevor commanded as he watched Aggron break into a charge. Opening his mouth, Charizard sprayed off the flames at Aggron.

"Flames no worry us! Charge on!" Tamal cried out as he licked his lips in excitement.

To Trevor's surprise, Aggron did just that as the Iron Armor Pokémon lowered its shoulder and crashed into the flames and disappeared from view.

"Don't let up, Charizard! Keep those flames roaring!" And Charizard did just that. Increasing the intensity, Charizard put everything he had into his Flamethrower and the crowd roared in amazement.

"Flames no hold me!" Tamal called out and just like he said, the Flamethrower couldn't stop Aggron. Continuing its sprint, Aggron dashed right through the flames before slamming right into Charizard and sending him backwards and right into Trevor.

Aggron didn't stop there, instead the Steel and Rock-Type crashed right into Ivysaur as the Grass and Poison-Type was launched into Shauna.

"Metal Sound now!" Aggron's appeared to glow white as they shook back and forth, creating sound waves that made Charizard and Ivysaur wince out in pain

"Now, Hyper Voice!" The sound based move joined in with the Metal Sound and the two attacks rang out as now both Pokémon and their trainers winced out in pain.

* * *

"What are they doing!?" Tierno yelled as he practically jumped out of his seat. He understood that the trainers could be targeted with non-lethal attacks, but this was anything but that. "They're hurting Trevor and Shauna!"

Tierno was right. Looking down at the field, everyone could see that bits of the trainer's clothes had been ripped from the attack and they also had small cuts as well which trickled with a little blood.

"Grrrrr! I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!" Tierno said as he brought his hands up in front of his body, already balled into fists. He wasn't going to sit around and do nothing while his friends were being hurt.

"Tierno, you can't interfere," a female voice said as Tierno turned to face his partner. Sitting there was a girl with pink hair that was tied off into two pony tails. She also had on square glasses that covered most of her face. "What they are doing is wrong, but the referee does not see it as life threatening. Interfering now will only get them disqualified and make you stoop to their level."

"But... Ariana... What about Shauna... And Trevs," Tierno muttered as he sat down. He felt useless since he couldn't do anything to help his best friends out. Watching with intense interest, Tierno couldn't help but feel worried as both of his friends' Pokémon stood back up.

* * *

"So, you're getting back up?" Qawi asked as he appeared annoyed that his opponents continued to fight. "Don't you understand it's useless. You're nowhere close to my level of strength. If I wanted to, I could crush you both with one move."

"I... I don't care if you're strong," Trevor stated as he wiped a little blood from his cut on his face. "People viewed me as weak, but Charizard and I worked hard. We trained for months and finally those hard days payed off as we gathered eight badges for the Kalos League. We are strong! And we'll show you!" Trevor practically yelled as it looked like tears were starting to form in his eyes. From fear or sadness, no one knew the origin of them, but now everyone was cheering for the boy.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw on Pyroar!" The Fire and Flying-Type roared as the claws on his hands glowed green before growing in size. Then, taking off in the air, Charizard aimed right for Pyroar. Slashing down hard, Charizard barely missed his mark as his claws collided with the sand.

"Again, Charizard! We won't let them throw us around! We'll prove that we are worthy of being here!" Charizard pulled his claws out of the sand and continued the same process of slashing away only to miss. Growing more and more frustrated at the situation, Charizard's moves were growing sloppy as his frustration took place.

"Heavy Slam!"

The command had caught everyone off guard. Before Trevor had a chance to even issue a counter attack, Aggron was already smashing down hard on Charizard. Luckily the sand managed to weaken the blow just a bit, but the attack managed to still bring a lot of pain for Charizard.

Feeling the weight of Aggron pushing against his back, Charizard tried to break free. However, the more he struggled it appeared the weight only increased and eventually he stopped moving all together.

"Quick, Ivysaur, use Solar Beam to help Charizard!" Shauna called out as the Grass and Poison-Type charged up the powerful move. Firing it off without a second thought, the Solar Beam crashed hard into Aggron and managed to push the Iron Armor Pokémon off of Charizard.

"Flamethrower!" The command came within a split second as the flames roared into Ivysaur. The attack was so powerful that Shauna herself felt the flames around her as her own body was burnt a little from it.

Seeing this, Tierno had enough as he stood up and was immediately followed by Ash. "Someone has to stop this! They'll push it too far and then what happens? If something happens to them, it might not be able to be healed by Nurse Joy!"

"I'm coming too, Tierno," Ash stated as the two boys sprinted down the stairs as they made their way to the edge of the seating area. Making it down there, the two boys called out to the four trainers.

"Knock it off!" Tierno yelled as he glared at Qawi and Tamal. Serena and everyone else all agreed that they had never seen Tierno look this upset, or upset about anything to state the obvious. So seeing him like this now was a surprise for all of them.

"The battle's over! You're going to harm them to the point that even Nurse Joy can't help them!

"Shut up!" Qawi screamed as he turned his attention to Tierno now. This guy shows up during their battle and thinks he can tell them what to do? Well, he had another thing coming.

"This battle is still in session. The referee has not made any statements regarding the conditions of any Pokémon and so the battle will continue," he continued on as both Charizard and Ivysaur stood back up.

Both Pokémon were panting heavily as cuts and bruises and even some burn marks covered their bodies. Trevor and Shauna weren't in any better shape as they too were cut and burnt from the attacks.

"As I've explained countless times, the weak do not belong here. They don't deserve to suffer when seeing their dreams crushed time and time again. Perhaps if someone had instilled the thought that they were weak then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"Shut up!" Trevor stated, shocking both Tierno and Qawi. The young trainer now had tears rolling down the side of his face as his fists shook by the sides of his body. Raising his head so that Qawi could see his face, Trevor continued on.

"All this match you've been going on about how the weak shouldn't be able to do anything since it'll always end in defeat for them. But I don't believe it! The weak can become strong just like how the strong can be weak, all that matters is how the person acts! And all I see in front of me are two weaklings!"

Those words struck a chord with Qawi as his face turned into a snarl as he threw it towards the orange haired boy. If there was one thing he wasn't, it was weak.

"So, you believe I'm weak?"

"I know you're weak," Trevor replied with a grin. "Someone strong knows to help others not put them down! And so, I'm going to beat you! Charizard, Flamethrower!"

"Pyroar, Flamethrower as well."

The two attacks collided over the small lake in the center of the field and the heat radiating from them caused the liquid to evaporate. After an equal fight for roughly thirty seconds, the two blasts exploded as sand blew into both of the trainers faces.

"Ivysaur, we need to help Trevor," Shauna stated as her starter nodded in agreement.

"Help you first, tiny girl! Aggron Double-Edge!" Tamal's voice said right as the Iron Armor Pokémon smashed hard into Ivysaur. Falling into the sand, Ivysaur collapsed and just laid there motionless.

"Ivysaur is unable to battle!" The referee declared as Trevor took a split second to look at his partner. Things weren't looking good for them as Charizard was heavily damaged and their opponents seemed fine.

Then, to his shock Aggron rammed right into Charizard as the Flame Pokémon landed right in front of him. Looking down, he watched to his surprise as Charizard stood back up. This time however he was glowing with a red aura around his body.

"Boy, just give up. I don't want to hurt you more than I have. I am just on a mission to rid the world of disappointment. For example, if you had been informed about being weak, you never would have thought you had a chance."

"I'm not weak! And we'll show it to you right now!" Trevor shouted as Charizard appeared ready to continue fighting despite his countless injuries. It was risky, but they both knew they only had one attack left in them.

"Flamethrower! Use all your strength!"

Letting out a loud roar, Charizard sprayed off the flames as it looked to consume the entire field. To the audience, it looked like Trevor actually managed to pull off the comeback and had carried his team to victory... Then the flames ended and a shocking sight stood before them. Standing inside of a blue shield was none other than Aggron and Pyroar.

"P... P-Protect..." Trevor muttered as he dropped to his knees. He never thought that Protect would have been used.

"Such a sad waste of time," Qawi said before a sinister smirk crossed his face. He had been proven correct once again that these two were weak and shouldn't be battling here or at any tournament of any standard.

"A last ditch effort wasted as you never thought of the chances for a move like Protect. As I said, the weak must be eliminated. Pyroar, Hyper Voice!"

Letting off the sound based move once more, Pyroar's attack smashes hard into Charizard who had become to drained to even dodge. Smashing hard into the ground, Charizard fell defeated as the remnants of the attack struck Trevor.

The young trainer then followed his Pokémon as the string holding his camera snapped, causing the device to fall to the ground as the boy followed quickly behind it.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" the referee quickly declared before the boy would try to stand back up. "Advancing on are Qawi and Tamal."

"Trevor!" Tierno and Shauna both cried out as the young trainer was motionless. If it hadn't been for his faint breathing, they both would have thought the worst had happened.

Quickly, the tournament's staff took Trevor and his Charizard, along with Shauna and her Ivysaur, out of the stadium and shuttled them off to the Resort's hospital. Tierno had chosen to go along with them, wanting to make sure his friends were going to be fine.

Everyone else were now waiting out in the hallways as they were getting ready to head right over to the hospital to check up on Trevor and the others when Qawi and Tamal passed by.

"Tell your friend that next time, the weak shouldn't enter something he can't win. Hopefully this loss is a reminder the next time he tries to enter one. The sting of defeat, burning at him like a hive of Beedrill... There's nothing worse than a weakling in this world."

"You're the weak one!" Aria practically yelled as she slapped the pale man. But, to her surprise the man didn't flinch at all and instead of his face being sore it was her hand. "Treating others like that! You should be helping them, making them want to grow not belittle them and crush their dreams!"

Qawi just stared at the Kalos Queen without any interest in her words. "Excuse me, your majesty," he started to say with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He noticed how she reacted as a little surprised, but her disguise wasn't that good. Anyone who paid attention to her could think they were the same person. "But what exactly have you done to help the weak?"

"I've given them hope. Something to want to surpass and in a sense a goal to conquer. I bring strength to others, I help them grow. I encourage them," she explained while sparing a glance at Serena. "Not all who are weak will stay weak. They just need some guidance."

Qawi rolled his eyes in annoyance as he listened to the Kalos Queen speak. "Well, where were you when the children of Dubayy City were starving. When hundreds of citizens were living on the streets as they had no other means of housing. The poor, the suffering. Life isn't all sunshine and sparkles like your shows make it seem. Some people are doomed to a life of always failing. And if I can help others avoid a path like that, then so be it."

Qawi started to walk away as he heard the annoying girl call out to him. Choosing to ignore her, Qawi continued on as he threw his hands into his pockets. "Stupid people. Believing that people change... If they saw the world I did..." he stopped himself from continuing before leaving the stadium hall for the day.

* * *

"Trevor, how you holding up?" Tierno asked as the orange-haired boy sat up in his bed. Trevor didn't even remember getting here, but somehow he was in a hospital room with all his vitals hooked up. "That was some scare you gave us."

"D-Did... Did I win?" He asked, a hint of frustration hidden in his voice. The last thing he had remembered was Charizard using Flamethrower but the rest was a blur for him. "Is Charizard alright? Please tell me he's fine!" He asked, grabbing ahold of Tierno's shirt.

"Take it easy, Trevs," Tierno said while getting his shirt freed from Trevor's grasp. "Charizard will be just fine. Nurse Joy said so herself. But she also said that he shouldn't battle until after the tournament is finished."

"That's good to hear. I was worried about him," Trevor said as a small smile crossed his face as he remembered all of their adventures. "We've been through so much together; I don't know what I would do if something happened."

"And the match?"

"Y-You lost," Tierno replied while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "He used Protect right as Charizard fired off that massive Flamethrower attack. Then, he attacked you right after."

"Where's Shauna?" Trevor asked while rolling onto his side. Looking out the window, Trevor watched as a few Fletchling flew by. "How is she doing?"

"Shauna's just fine. She collapsed from exhaustion during the trip here and so the doctors are taking care of her right now. They said she'll be fine after some rest." Tierno then stood up as he turned his back to his best friend. "But... What you did was reckless.

"I had to prove him wrong, Tierno! Charizard isn't weak and neither am I!"

"Trevor that doesn't matter!" Tierno cried out as he turned around. Trevor noticed for the first time now that Tierno's eyes were red. He had been crying just recently. "You weren't the one riding with both your best friends unconscious in an ambulance! I was worried all about you two!"

"What he did was wrong and I won't take it," Tierno continued on as he looked out the window. He had already made his mind up about it, but he wanted to tell Trevor as well. "That's why I'll be the one to beat him. I'll beat Qawi and I'll do it for you and Shauna. I'll show him just how strong we all are. And when that time comes, I want you to cheer me on. Alright?"

"Yeah, just make sure you give it everything you have," Trevor replied as he leaned his head back on his pillows. His eyes were feeling heavy right now and despite his best attempts to stay awake, the orange haired boy felt them slowly closing.

Seeing that Trevor was exhausted, Tierno slowly left his friend's room to rejoin the others who had been forced to stay in the waiting room. Walking around the corner, Tierno was met with concerned looks from everyone.

"How's Shauna and Trevor doing?" Serena asked as she stood up. They had been waiting for over an hour now, but none of them had been allowed to go and see the duo.

"Trevor is going to be just fine," Tierno said, his words allowing everyone in the room to breathe a sigh of relief. "They wouldn't let me go and see Shauna though. The doctors are still checking up on her."

"That would be expected. All of the stress from the battle must have put a toll on him," Clemont added in, placing his hand underneath his chin. "The way those two battled, it felt like they had no concern for Trevor or Shauna. Just that they wanted to win."

"They did say something about getting rid of the weak," Ash said as he remembered Qawi talking to them for a split second during his match.

Sawyer and Clemont glanced at each other as they too remembered their run in with Qawi. They didn't know much about him, but based on what he said about disposing the weak and seeing what he did to Trevor and Shauna they knew he was crazy.

"The doctors think it is best to let them rest for now. They'll let visitors come in tomorrow after the matches. But I think for now we should go. I'll be stopping by again in a little to see how they're doing," Tierno said as he looked both scared and angry.

"They wouldn't want us to just sit around waiting. If I know Shauna, she'd be upset knowing we sat around here all day," Tierno continued on as he glanced back to look at the hallway where his two friends were located. "And the last thing I need is Shauna being upset at me."

"You guys go on ahead," Sawyer said as he tucked his notebook back into his pocket. Since arriving, he had been looking over his notes hoping to create the perfect strategy for tomorrow. "I think I'll just head back to the Resort for now."

Watching the green haired trainer leave, the others couldn't decide on what to do. Remembering that he needed to go do something, Tierno left the group and was shortly followed by Ariana.

Now outside of the hospital, the group of now Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Astrid and Miette stood around as they tried to decide on something. They were in the number one tourist location, yet none of them were in any mood to go and explore following the day's events.

"Clemont, let's go play at the pool," Bonnie asked as she tugged on her brother's jumpsuit. She had been wanting to go swimming, but there had been no time since arriving in the town.

"I guess you can go swimming for a while. But then it's off to bed because I want to look around the city early in the morning," he replied before facing everyone else. "Are you all coming along?"

Ash was the first to respond as he turned towards Clemont. "Yeah, that sounds like a-" he started to say, only to be interrupted by his stomach letting out a loud rumble.

"I guess my stomach has a different idea," he replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of his hat. He had missed lunch due to the tournament and then coming to the hospital following Trevor and Shauna's match.

"Pika," Pikachu muttered in response as he too rubbed the back of his head.

"Alright, I'll see you back at the resort then, Clemont replied as he faced Serena. "How about you, Serena?"

"I think I'll pass. I wanted to really explore some of the city. Get to see some of its attractions," she explained while glancing quickly over at Ash. She was also hoping to finally get some alone time with him as well.

Nodding in agreement, Clemont and Bonnie waved goodbye to the now group of four before making their way out into the bustling streets. The sight of them disappearing immediately as they appeared to be swallowed by the bustling tourists.

"Okay, Pikachu, time to find somewhere good to eat," Ash said while looking at his partner. They could smell something cooking, but were unsure of where it was coming from.

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu agreed as he sniffed the air for the same scent Ash could smell.

The duo were about to head off in search of something to eat, but were stopped when they were nearly trampled by the bustling crowds. Jumping backwards, Ash let out a sigh of annoyance at the sight of the crowds.

"How are we supposed to get anywhere if the crowds make it too difficult to move?"

Miette however saw this as an opportunity to really mess with Serena. Deciding to go through with it, the blue haired Performer walked over to the boy she had a slight interest in.

"It isn't too bad once you push your way through. Watch," she said, quickly winking at Serena before grabbing ahold of Ash's hand. Running into the crowd, Miette and Ash vanished from sight.

"Hold on!" Serena yelled out as she tried to chase after them. Running out into the street like them, Serena quickly caught sight of Pikachu. Following the Electric-Type, who was conveniently sitting atop Ash's head, Serena made her way down various streets and alleyways before finally losing sight of the two trainers.

Folding her arms over her chest, Serena let a pout form on her face before realizing she left Astrid behind at the hospital. Retracing her path, Serena continued to be in a bad move over the stunt Miette just pulled.

Finally letting her anger out, Serena sat down on a nearby bench as she flailed her arms around her head, nearly knocking her hat off her head as she ruffled her hair.

"Ahhh!" She let out before calming herself down by controlling her breathing. Once more crossing her arms, Serena sighed. "Miette knew what she was doing the entire time. First at the dance party and now here. It isn't fair!"

Serena was quickly snapped out of her venting when she heard what sounded like a muffled laughter. Looking around the area, Serena noticed that there was no one else here and quickly reached for Braixen's Poké Ball.

"Whoa, take it easy. It's just me, Astrid's voice could be heard by Serena as the older blonde walked out from her spot. Looking at Serena's ruffled hair, Astrid struggled to hold back her laughter.

"Sorry, it's just... You have it bad for Ash. Don't you?"

Sighing, Serena scooted over on her bench and motioned for Astrid to sit down. Now joined by her partner, Serena rested her arms on her knees before leaning her head in them. Looking out at the fountain that was in the center of the square they were located in, Serena watched as water sprayed from the Milotic topper.

"It's a long story..."

"We have time," Astrid replied as she tossed a ball over to two kids playing in the streets.

"Well you see..." Serena started to say as she told her story.

* * *

 **Well Qawi is crazy. He was more than willing to put Trevor and Shauna in harm's way just to try and make them lose. And what was that device he had that seemed to react when Pikachu launched an attack? So Astrid now reveals that she knows about Serena's crush so let's see where that goes.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review about what you liked and how I can improve the story.**


	6. A Resolution for Victory!

**Welcome back everyone. Last time, the first round came to a close as everyone moved on. Well, everyone except the team of Trevor and Shauna who had a less than pleasant experience at the tournament thanks to Qawi. After making sure they were alright, everyone split up to go and so their own things.**

 **Ch 6: A Resolution for Victory**

* * *

"Hold on!" Serena yelled out as she tried to chase after them. Running out into the street like them, Serena quickly caught sight of Pikachu. Following the Electric-Type, who was conveniently sitting atop Ash's head, Serena made her way down various streets and alleyways before finally losing sight of the two trainers.

Folding her arms over her chest, Serena let a pout form on her face before realizing she left Astrid behind at the hospital. Retracing her path, Serena continued to be in a bad move over the stunt Miette just pulled.

Finally letting her anger out, Serena sat down on a nearby bench as she flailed her arms around her head, nearly knocking her hat off her head as she ruffled her hair.

"Ahhh!" She let out before calming herself down by controlling her breathing. Once more crossing her arms, Serena sighed. "Miette knew what she was doing the entire time. First at the dance party and now here. It isn't fair!"

Serena was quickly snapped out of her venting when she heard what sounded like a muffled laughter. Looking around the area, Serena noticed that there was no one else here and quickly reached for Braixen's Poké Ball.

"Whoa, take it easy. It's just me, Astrid's voice could be heard by Serena as the older blonde walked out from her spot. Looking at Serena's ruffled hair, Astrid struggled to hold back her laughter.

"Sorry, it's just... You have it bad for Ash. Don't you?"

Sighing, Serena scooted over on her bench and motioned for Astrid to sit down. Now joined by her partner, Serena rested her arms on her knees before leaning her head in them. Looking out at the fountain that was in the center of the square they were located in, Serena watched as water sprayed from the Milotic topper.

"It's a long story..."

"We have time," Astrid replied as she tossed a ball over to two kids playing in the streets.

"Well you see..." Serena started to say as she told her story.

Serena explained everything to Astrid as the elder girl listened on with interest. Serena explained about her first meeting with Ash, how the boy practically came to her rescue while she was scared and hurt. How he helped her walk all the way back to camp, not even worrying about what he was doing at the time but instead wanting to help her.

She then transitioned over to how she then saw him again on the news jumping off of Prism Tower. How that news feed reminded her of the boy she had a slight crush on and finding out from Professor Sycamore fueled it only more. She said how she started a journey just to find him and when she did she was beyond excited to hear him ask her to travel with himself and his friends.

Serena then explained how over their journey through Kalos so far she could feel her crush slowly developing into more than just that. From the time he vanished from this world at the Reflection Cave to the moment he gave her the blue ribbon she always wore as a present. She had made sure it would be included in her outfit in some form. Shaking her head, Serena let a light chuckle escape as she thought about all the times Ash had grown excited from seeing a new Pokémon or the prospect of a battle. And how his determination could never be beat by anyone.

Finally, Serena mentioned how the few months of their journey was where she finally came to realization about her feelings for her childhood crush. She didn't know the exact point in time, but somewhere between the time they had left Coumarine City and arrived in Laverre City she knew that what she felt was no longer a crush or just an attraction but was instead love. She loved being just around him due to positivity. The fact that he never gave up had filled her with her own determination when it had come to Showcases. His smile which could make even the saddest person smile alongside him. Not to mention just his overall personality made every day traveling with him the greatest of her life.

Serena then decided to mention how Miette also felt the same way for Ash, how much in the sense that Serena did was up to debate but she knew that the blue haired Performer did have something for the trainer as well. She explained how Miette declared it a competition to see who would win Ash over first and how when they were invited to a dance party for Performers, Miette had the chance to take Ash as her date. She explained how that entire time she wished she could have gone with him, but for her Eevee's sake she went with Clemont so she would be comfortable.

The conversation continued on for what felt like forever to Serena. But every time she looked over at Astrid, the blonde was listening intently. It appeared that she had the full intention of listening to the whole story. Finally reaching the last few days of her journey, Serena finished her explanation with how her and Miette are both trying to get some alone time with Ash while in Dubayy City in hopes of ending their competition as Miette coined it.

Seeing that the story was over, Astrid sat back against the bench and let out a small laugh. She then looked over at Serena and saw what looked to be a confused look, no doubt from hearing Astrid laugh from the story. Smiling at the younger girl, Astrid stood up from the bench and looked at Serena.

"I find it cute," Astrid explained while the confused expression stayed on Serena's face. "The fact you've had this crush on him since you were both young kids. I think you two would look good together as well."

"Thank you, but I don't think he'll ever notice me," Serena replied as she clasped her hands together. "I've been sending so many hints his way, but he never sees them. And now that Miette is around him all the time she'll try something."

"Well you won't win with that attitude," Astrid snapped at her as she placed her hands on her hips. Serena was now looking up at her and noticed the serious expression on Astrid's face. "If you really care for him the way you said, you wouldn't be giving up so fast. Boys are dense and dumb when it comes to things like this. You need to just chip away at his denseness until it just shatters all around him."

"And how am I going to do that?"

"Act like yourself, but be a little more assertive. Do something to catch his attention. Do anything! You're in Dubayy City, you're bound to find something to do with him!" Astrid explained as placed her hands on Serena's shoulders. "The matches don't start until the afternoon tomorrow; you'll have the entire day to spend with him so make it count. But for now I'm going to help you out."

"What do you mean by that?" Serena asked as she was pulled up from the bench by Astrid and brought down the street. "Where are you taking me!?"

"You'll see," Astrid playfully teased as she dragged the honey blonde Performer behind her. This was going to be a pleasant surprise for the young girl.

* * *

"Okay, Blastoise, use Hydro Pump on those boulders!" Tierno called out to his Water-Type. They had won their first round match rather easily thanks to the help of Ariana, but right now it didn't matter. They had to get even stronger than they currently were and the duo had gone to the outside of the town and into the desert to practice during the night.

"Blastoise!" The Shellfish Pokémon cried out in agreement as water shot out from the two large cannons on his back. The streams crashed hard into the rocks, but outside of a few cracks it did little to damage them.

"Let's try it again," Tierno muttered through grit teeth. He was starting to grow frustrated at the failures that they were encountering. "We'll keep doing it until we're strong enough to get revenge for Shauna and Trevor. That Qawi will regret ever messing with them," he continued on while shaking a fist in front of his face.

Little did the duo know that they had a little guest watching them. Off in the desert was Qawi who had come out here to meditate to prepare for his next match. But upon hearing a loud noise, he decided to check it out only to be disappointed in the fact that it was nothing more than a weakling trying to grow strong.

Watching him however, Qawi noticed how neither Blastoise or the trainer wavered in their quest for strength. Qawi had to give it to them, perhaps they weren't weak after all. But, no matter how much they trained, they would be no match for him anyways.

"Those fools," he muttered in disappointment before turning away. "To believe they can become strong enough to challenge me. How ridiculous. Thanks to the power bestowed upon me by Zebidi I'll never lose. I promised myself from the day he took me in that I would never be a weakling again. And I plan on keeping that promise."

 _Qawi walked along the streets of Dubayy City some months ago as he staggered through the rain. The young man had just been fired for the third time this month and things weren't looking too good for him. He had already been late on this month's rent and his food was running low as well. Qawi had thought about many different ways of trying to earn money but they had all ended in failure._

 _At first he had tried selling items on the streets to passing tourists, but after some time one of the merchants called the city police on him. They had told the police he had been selling items with a shop permit, thus not having to pay any form of taxes to the city. That plan had him spending over a month in jail._

 _His next plan had been to provide tours of the city and its historical landmarks. But, just like the last one, the tour companies called up and complained as well. This time, Qawi had ran away from the location before the arrival of the police._

 _Finally, his last plan had been entering Dubayy City's underground Pokémon League. He viewed himself as pretty powerful as a trainer. Him and Pyroar were a force to be reckoned with in the neighborhood they lived on, so why not give the underground circuit a chance. Qawi had learned the hard way that the circuit wasn't for everyone. In his very first battle, Pyroar had been destroyed and beaten badly. When asked why they would do this to him, the management had said that the weak don't belong here. That the weak should have their dreams crushed so to avoid being constantly hurt by their failures._

 _Now outside of his apartment, Qawi sat on his front steps and placed his face into his hands as he softly cried away all the pain he was going through. "Why can't I be strong!? I want to prove them all wrong! I want to show that I'm a great trainer!"_

" _What would you be willing to surrender?" A raspy voice asked. Looking around, Qawi noticed that there was no one outside at all. "I'm not in your general vicinity, boy."_

" _Then where are you?" Qawi asked fearfully. He had no idea who this person was or what he had planned for him._

" _I'll ask again," the voice said sounding agitated with Qawi. Coughing so to clear his throat, the voice continued on. "What would you be willing to sacrifice?"_

 _Sitting there, Qawi thought about everything that had been going wrong for him. If he had this power, then he would be able to join the underground circuit and pay his bills on time. Smirking, the young man stood up as he pumped his fists. "I'll sacrifice anything! Just give me this strength you speak of!"_

" _Alright then," the voice said before a splitting headache took over Qawi's head. Clasping it with both his hands, Qawi tried to suppress the pain as best he could, but it was to no avail. The pain was only increasing and he wondered what he had signed up for._

" _Relax, boy, the transformation is nearly complete."_

" _W-Wh-What's happening!?" Qawi cried out as he noticed his body turning pale in color. He also managed to notice an increase in muscle mass, but his attention soon turned to a burning sensation on his left palm. A large 'Z' covered his palm as the burning sensation left._

" _Nothing too bad, All I did was brand you with my seal," the voice said as the wind picked up, kicking sand all around. Once it died down, an elderly looking man stood before Qawi. He looked short in stature and wasn't anything too intimidating when you looked at him. He was bald on top of his head, but had a rather large moustache and beard combo that covered most of his face. He was dressed in what looked to be some sort of ancient robes based on the fact Qawi had never seen them in any of the shops he worked at._

" _That is the seal of Zebidi the great wizard and he is I," Zebidi explained as he touched the 'Z' on Qawi's hand. "With this seal, you'll be able to fill your Pokémon with energy from my spells, increasing everything about them. And the more you battle, the more the seal increases in strength thus giving a larger boost."_

 _Qawi was amazed, the very thing he wanted was just given to him. He was now strong, no more struggling on the streets to try and make end's meat. "Thank you. You're a great man!" He cried out before realizing something. There were still people who were like him before now._

" _And with this power, I'm going to make the weaks' lives better. By using my strength to crush their dreams, they'll learn to not try anymore as it'll end in failure. They won't have to live in a world where they're constantly dreading the thought of failure!"_

" _But there's a catch," the wizard muttered as he twirled his moustache between his fingers. Qawi looked away from the seal for a minute to see the man grinning. "You see, hundreds of years ago, I created a being of unimaginable strength to help bring peace and prosperity to the world. It was a beautiful day when he was unleashed on this world, but others misunderstood what it was for and attacked him before sealing him away. Now, I've spent centuries trying to open the seal but am unable to."_

" _Looking into the spell that confined my creature, I learned that to open it I required a lot of energy."_

" _Energy?"_

" _Yes, but it can only be from a Pokémon battle," the wizard continued as he realized just how stupid this guy was. "So, you're going to enter an upcoming tournament and collect energy from the strongest trainers there. And once my creature is free, we'll bring a brighter future to this world."_

"I must win for master Zebidi. Without his creature we cannot save this world from its horrors," Qawi muttered as he looked at the 'Z' on his hand. It was now glowing red due to his emotions just as Zebidi had told him how it would also react upon his emotions.

"And once the world is saved, then I can continue on my own duty to help the weak by getting rid of them," he finished before vanishing in a sandstorm, unaware that he had been watched.

"So, he is cursed with the seal of Zebidi," Tamal said as they watched the young man disappear.

"It appears so," Zinnia replied as she got out from her hiding spot. The duo had tracked Qawi in hopes of finding proof that he was truly one of Zebidi's minions. "Our assumptions were correct with him. And with the seal he'll only become stronger the longer he's in the tournament."

"What should we do, master?"

"Nothing," she responded as the duo turned back towards the city. She had no reason to stay out in the desert any longer and it was best to leave before Zebidi caught sight of them. "We know that Zebidi is here and that's good enough for now. We do not need to tip him off to our enrollment in the tournament. For now, we must wait until Qawi makes his move."

"Yes master," Tamal replied as the duo walked back towards the city in silence. _"If Zebidi plans to release that monster onto the world, then we are all doomed."_

* * *

"This is place serves great food!" Ash cried out before placing his bowl back down. By the shock on Miette's face, Ash couldn't tell what she was surprised about. "Huh, what's the matter?"

"Nothing..." Miette muttered as she looked at all the food Ash had eaten. Where did he put all of it since the boy appeared to be in top physical condition. "It's just... I knew you enjoyed food, but I never thought you ate this much."

"Yeah, when there's something good I just can't stop eating it. Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" The Mouse Pokémon cried out in agreement as he nibbled away at the food in front of him. He knew first hand just how much Ash could eat after traveling with him for six regions.

Miette laughed at his response before smiling at the boy. "So, what do you think will happen tomorrow? The tournament is moving on and sooner or later we'll have to face the others."

"When that time comes we'll give it everything we have and then a little more!" Ash cried out as he stood up and caused the whole restaurant to look in their direction. "We're going to make it to the championship and then we're going to win the whole thing!"

"Can you take it easy, you're making everyone stare!" Miette cried out, slightly embarrassed from the looks of the fellow customers.

Noticing the stares directed towards him, Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. Sitting back down, Ash continued to chuckle a little as Miette composed herself. "Sorry, I just got so excited for the tournament that I forgot where we were."

"It's fine," Miette replied while sighing. She never knew how much of a handful Ash could be at times. "Just, what do you plan on doing if we face Qawi?"

Miette realized she probably shouldn't have asked that question because as soon as those words left her mouth, Ash's entire demeanor changed. Gone was his happier self and replaced by an angrier looking boy. One that Miette never thought Ash could look like this.

"If we face him then we'll just beat him," Ash said confidently as his face relaxed for a more neutral expression. "He won't get away with treating the others like that. I'll show him that the weak can be strong."

"You really are a great person," Miette replied as she leaned her head against her open palm. "Anyone would be ecstatic to have you as their partner."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it," Miette replied as she sat back up while smiling at her partner.

* * *

"Take a look at this, Sawyer," Clemont said as he replayed the video to Sawyer. After Bonnie had finished swimming, Clemont had gone off to the Resort's video room to review today's matches when something had caught his attention.

Something in Qawi's match had been glowing a bright red, but due to the action happening on the field. Needing to get a second opinion to make sure he wasn't seeing things, Clemont went in search for the only person he knew was also at the Resort. Finding Sawyer, Clemont brought him down to the video room to show him.

Sawyer watched the replay and immediately saw the same light as Clemont. Pausing the video, Sawyer tried to zoom in as much as he could without distorting the image quality.

"It looks to be some kind of light eradicating from his hand."

"I noticed it as well, but was unsure if my eyes were seeing it correctly. I wonder if it had anything to do with the match?" Clemont asked as they continuously replayed the scene while zoomed in.

"I wonder if in some way it effected his Pokémon in a way that it was stronger?" Sawyer said before pausing the video real fast. Clicking over towards Tamal, the young trainer circled an area that glowed the same color.

"Look, the other guy is the same way. But it's coming from his leg this time."

"We should probably keep an eye on this during their next match. See if that same glow appears at all. Perhaps it could be some sort of enhancement for their Pokémon," Clemont thought as he saved the file onto a flash drive before placing it into his pocket. "But for now I think we should worry about our own match."

"Yeah. I was wondering what we should do for the battle," Sawyer responded as they both left the room and headed towards the indoor training room.

* * *

"Astrid, where are we going?" Serena asked as she was being pulled along. It had felt like forever since Astrid had dragged her across the city.

Turning her head to face the honey blonde Performer, Astrid just winked before facing forward again. "It's a surprise. You'll see once we get there." She then picked up the pace before Serena could question her.

Looking around, Serena looked at the area of the city they were in while running after Astrid. The buildings were all neat and organized while also all of the same cut stone. They appeared to all be stores based on the fact that tourists were entering and exiting all of them with bags in hand.

It appeared that amidst their running, Astrid had dragged Serena all the way to the shopping district as the famous Dubayy Mall was now all around them. Various vendors were scattered around the outside portion as they sold all sorts of things from clothes to items for Pokémon. Serena had even seen someone selling Magikarp to people on the street.

But these smaller vendors weren't the reason why Astrid dragged her here. Turning around, the older trainer finally spoke. "We're here! I said I was going to help you so we'll start here."

"At the Dubayy Mall?" Serena asked as she looked around. There were quite a few interesting stores to look at, but how was this helping. "What's here that'll help me?"

"It's only the biggest mall in all of Kalos. We're going to find something to help get Ash's attention."

"I'm not going to dress all skimpy!" Serena yelled as her face turned red from looking at a few of the dresses they had in the windows and on display as they entered the mall. If Ash had thought the streets were crowded, he should have seen the mall. Serena could barely move as she forced her way through the entrance. But once inside, there was much more space to move about as Serena looked at all of the stores and vendors that lined the inside. It was an outdoor mall with the exception of the roof over the vendors, but what caught her attention was the lighting.

The low lighting matched perfectly with the beige color of the ceiling and the tiles that lined the floor. Being caught up in everything, Serena almost walked right into a now stationary Astrid. The trainer appeared to be looking over a map as the sound of merchants trying to sell their items could be heard in the background.

"Don't worry about that," Astrid replied as she finally answered Serena's earlier statement. All she had to do was now find that store from before. "Now where is it..."

"Where's what?"

"A store I heard of," Astrid responded as her finger landed on the name of a store. Serena tried to read the name, but Astrid gave her no time to as she dragged the Performer away. "I heard that it has clothes from all over the world. Maybe we can find something that's from Kanto."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" Serena asked, somewhat hurt by the thought that Astrid was hinting at her clothes weren't good enough.

"Nothing, but maybe something else will get a reaction," she explained while reaching the store. "Poké Alam. A place where you can find clothes from anywhere."

"Wait, who says I'm trying to get a reaction!?" Serena said while flustered. She got that Astrid wanted to help, but doing it in a way that could leave Serena dressed in an uncomfortable clothing wasn't what she wanted.

"You said you wanted to see him react to your hints. So maybe changing up your outfit for a little will help," Astrid offered as she pushed Serena into the building. "Besides, it won't hurt to try."

Serena tried to fight back, but between the crowd and Astrid pushing her there was no way she was getting out of this. Once inside, Serena noticed all the different kinds of outfits, and just as Astrid had said some weren't from Kalos.

Now interested in seeing what she could find, Serena wandered around the shop as she picked at the different items of clothing on the racks.

* * *

"Alright, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on those targets!" Ash cried out as his best friend jumped from his shoulder. It was now later at night as Ash decided to get some last minute training in the night before the next round.

"Pika... Chuuuuuu!" The Electric-Type cried out as electricity flowed throughout his cheeks before launching from them. Flying across the practice field, Pikachu's Thunderbolt crashed into the moving targets and completely destroyed them.

Looking at the remains of the target, Ash noticed that there wasn't much left of it, just some ashes as the rest was now missing.

"Your Thunderbolt is getting really strong, Pikachu," Ash praised the Mouse Pokémon while scratching behind his ear. "We're looking pretty good for our Gym battle on Snowbelle City. And then it's the Kalos League."

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in agreement. Their journey in Kalos was coming to a close, and all they needed was one final Gym Badge to qualify for the Kalos League. "Pika. Pikachu, chu."

"I feel the same, buddy," Ash replied as the duo sat down on one of the benches located at the practice field. "This has been an amazing journey. The friends we've made along with how hard our team has worked has made it so great. I'm really going to miss Kalos when it's time to leave."

"Pi..." Pikachu replied as his ears drooped. He didn't want to think about leaving at all if he could help it.

"I know, but it'll be happening eventually. We're going to accept the fact our time in Kalos and with Serena and the others is limited," he said before sighing. Looking down at his best friend, they both knew how it would be when they left.

"It's going to be a sad day when we have to leave. I just hope Serena and the others will be alright."

"You must really care for her?" Ash jumped at the sound and turned to see Astrid standing there. "I just came out to the Resort's practice field to get some training in. But you were out here." Astrid then made her way over to the bench and sat next to Ash.

"You know, you two are really lucky."

"How so?" Ash asked as he looked at Astrid. He was just a normal trainer in his eyes who had met many Pokémon.

"You and Serena have each other," Astrid explained with a light smile. "She told me all about your journey together and the way she talked about you, you would think you weren't real. She thinks very highly of you."

"She does?" Ash asked, a hint of joy hidden behind his surprise. He couldn't explain it, but he was extremely happy that Serena thought about him like that. "Well, she's really the remarkable one. She found her calling in life and has been pursuing her dreams together with her Pokémon."

"Despite the setbacks she's hit, Serena has bounced back stronger than ever. It's amazing how she is so caring to her Pokémon and everyone else. Plus, she never backs down from a challenge despite how hard it is. If anyone is the remarkable, it's her."

"Sounds like you admire her quite a lot as well," Astrid replied as she decided to help Serena out even more. "The way you two talk about each other, I'd think you liked her."

"Of course I do!" Ash replied happily, unaware of what she was implying. "We're great friends. She's always there cheering for me, making sure that I'm alright. She even bakes delicious desserts for everyone."

Sighing, Astrid shook her head in disappointment. "Not like that. I meant in a way like... More than friends," she said, making sure to use the correct words.

"More than friends?" Ash muttered back as he looked down at Pikachu. He wasn't exactly sure what Astrid meant by that. "Well, you could say we're great friends."

Astrid wanted to face palm at Ash's response. When Serena had said he was dense, she didn't think it was this bad. "Well, I wasn't talking about being friends. It seems like you two are closer than that. The way you both admire the other and are always there for the other when they need help."

Ash thought about what the older girl was saying. That really did fit the description for them. Serena was always there for him, especially during his Gym Battles when he could hear her cheering the loudest. A small smile then crossed over his face as all the thoughts from his journey in Kalos came to him.

"I guess you're right. We really are like that," he replied before leaning backwards with his arms behind his head. "I wish there was something I could do to show her that I appreciate everything she's done."

A smirk crossed Astrid's face, but only Pikachu managed to catch it in time. Her plan had worked after all and now Ash was starting to think. "Well, why don't you take her around the city? It does have some amazing scenery. She'd probably like that."

"You think so?" Ash asked with a sound of hope in his voice. Now that he realized Serena had done so much for him, he really wanted to do something special for her. "I want her to really have a good time."

"Trust me, she'll enjoy it. Just remember, Ash, she's a special girl so don't take her for granted," Astrid replied as she got up and started to walk away. "Oh, one more thing, just don't do anything too crazy," she joked before vanishing from Ash's sight.

"What'd she mean by that, Pikachu?" Ash asked as he looked down at his best friend. However, he couldn't help but subconsciously blush from the feeling that it would be something Brock would do.

"Pi..." Pikachu muttered while shaking his head. Just when it seemed like Ash was starting to learn, he still appeared clueless.

Standing up in a rush, Ash caught Pikachu by surprise, sending the Electric-Type falling from his lap. "I might not get what Astrid was meaning there, but I do know that I need to do something special for Serena. It's the least I can do for her! Especially after all the help she's given us throughout this journey!" He cried out, excitement filling him to his surprise. It was a different excited though, not like when he was in a battle but more like a nervous excitement.

Rushing back into the Resort, Ash had one thought on his mind and it was to find Serena. Running through the hallways, Ash looked into each of the different rooms to see if Serena was in any of them. One by one, he crossed each room off of the list as she wasn't in any of them. Then, once he was about to start his search again, he heard it. The familiar voice that this time caused his heart to jump for a moment. He couldn't understand why, but his palms were now sweaty as he peered through the doorway. Sitting in what appeared to be a grooming room, Serena was giving her Pokémon all a good cleaning.

"You did great today, Braixen," Serena said as she ran her personal brush across the Fire-Type's tail. "Hopefully Ash was impressed by us today. I really want to do good in front of him."

Ash listened to her words as he replayed them in his mind. _"She wants to impress me? She doesn't need to, she's already amazing,"_ he told himself, unaware of his word choice to describe her.

Looking back at Serena, Ash noticed that she was starting to stand up now. A clear sign that she was finished grooming her Pokémon. "It's now or never..." Ash said slowly. He didn't know what was making him wait. Just a few minutes ago he was running through the Resort looking for her. Now, he couldn't bring himself to enter the room. Taking a deep breath, Ash pushed any nervousness he was feeling away as he forced himself into the room.

"Hey, Serena," he started out with as he slowly walked into the room. Serena saw him and quickly smiled in his direction, causing his heartbeat to speed up.

"Ash, what brings you to the grooming room? You're not one to do something like this," she asked before looking down at Pikachu. "Do you want to be cleaned, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" He replied happily before leaping onto her lap. The Electric-Type then cried out softly as Serena ran her brush nice and slowly through his fur.

"You like that?" Serena asked nicely as she ran the brush through the same spot, getting the same happy cry.

Ash just watched Serena as a slight smile crossed his face. She was always so nice to everyone, but even though she was always like this he couldn't understand why he felt nervous or why his heart was jumping at the sight of her smiling.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ash remembered why he had come looking for her. Sitting down next to Serena, Ash watched as she finished running the brush through Pikachu's fur. "Well, there's actually another reason besides that," he explained nervously while scratching his cheek.

"You see, I was just thinking about how much you've done for everyone during our journey together," he started out with before forgetting what he had planned. Deciding to just wing it, Ash continued on. "And, well, I realized I never properly thanked you for any of it."

"Ash, you didn't need to thank me for it," Serena replied as she began stroking Pikachu with her hand now. "I did everything because I wanted to. I'm just glad that we got to travel together."

"But I want to!" He cried back as the urgency in his voice surprised Serena. She had never heard Ash speak with that tone before, it was different than what his urgency in a Gym Battle. This one also had the sound of fear in it. "Just, you've come so far on your journey. You've grown as a person and a trainer, you're aiming to become Kalos Queen all while helping us. And so I really want to thank you. So…" he started to say before pausing. He could feel the sweat return to his hands and discreetly wiped them on his pants.

"So... So, I was wondering if you wanted to go see the city with me in two days. I was looking at the schedule for the tournament and after the Top 16 there's going to be a day off for the teams to rest up. Just you and me, no one else. We'll just go and see some of the sights before our matches."

Serena didn't respond. She didn't know if she had heard him right, but she could have sworn he just asked if she wanted to go sightseeing with him. Grasping the blue ribbon, Serena sighed a breath of relief.

Noticing how she hadn't responded, Ash feared the worst and hung his head a little. "Of course, if you don't want to, then that's alright as well."

"I'd love to go," she quickly responded before he changed his mind. Looking at him, she noticed both shock and joy on his face. Smiling, she tried her best to not laugh from happiness. "It'll be a lot of fun. I can't wait."

"Great!" Ash happily cried out as he jumped up from his seat. A wave of joy had washed over him as soon as Serena had agreed to go. "We can go in the morning. That way we'll have all day to search through the city."

"Perfect, I can't wait." She replied while her smile only continued to grow. Watching as Ash walked away, Serena laid down on the sofa she had been sitting on as she gripped her ribbon.

"Ash just asked me to go with him," she muttered before being unable to contain herself anymore. Letting out her joy, laughter and cries of joy filled the room as she sat back up. It might not have been called a date, but it would be just the two of them alone. No Miette or anyone else to ruin anything for her.

Her Pokémon were also excited for her, especially Braixen who she had told plenty of times just how she was feeling. Congratulating their trainer, the three Pokémon crowded around her before they just sat there together.

" _This week is only getting better each day,"_ she thought to herself as they stood up so that Serena could head back to her room. It had been a long day and she was exhausted.

Walking through the hallways of the Resort, Serena happily hummed away as thoughts of her time alone with Ash tomorrow filled her head. Nothing could ruin the moment for her.

"What's got you so happy?" Miette asked, her voice snapping Serena from her fantasy world. Looking at the blue haired Performer, Serena noticed that she was looking at her with a confused look. "I thought you'd be upset after I went with Ash to dinner alone."

"That was a cheap trick," Serena replied back with a slight glare. "You pulled him along like that on purpose."

"Maybe you should have kept up with us."

"Well, I've got something you don't," Serena replied with a smirk towards her rival. Seeing the interest on Miette's face, Serena knew she was going to enjoy this. "I've got a date with Ash."

"You're lying!" Miette shot back as she got in Serena's face.

"Am not! He just asked me himself!" She argued as the Performer got in Miette's face as well.

Deciding to believe Serena, Miette took a step back as she placed her hands behind her back before moving them in front of her body. With a sly smirk, Miette pulled Serena in real close. "Don't waste this opportunity because I'll be making my move real soon."

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure we'll have a great time," Serena replied with her own smirk. She wasn't letting Miette ruin her time with Ash. "I'll be sure to tell you all about it."

Serena then continued on down the hall, her Pokémon right behind her as they went right for the elevator. Now away from Miette, feat began to sit in.

"What if something goes wrong?" Serena asked nervously as the elevator climbed to her floor. "What if I say something wrong or bore Ash?"

"Brai! Braixen, brai!" The Fox Pokémon cried out as she snapped at Serena. She had been perfectly fine up until a minute ago and there was no way she was going to let Serena allow Miette to ruin this on her.

"You're right, Braixen. Thanks," she replied while smiling at the Fire-Type. Serena knew that Miette was hoping to mess with her and there was no way she was going to let that happen.

"This week is going to be so great!" Serena happily cried out while opening the door to her room. Looking in, Bonnie was already fast asleep while Clemont was working on something. It seemed different than his other inventions and she soon realized he was watching match highlights from earlier and decided to not interrupt him. Ash however still wasn't back yet, probably doing some last minute training Serena thought. She then got changed and into bed real quietly, making sure to not disturb Clemont. Falling fast asleep, all Serena could think about was her date with Ash.

* * *

Laying up on the roof of the building were Ash and Pikachu. As Serena had thought, the duo were originally training, but had taken a break to rest. Now just staring up at the stars, Ash couldn't get Serena out of his head. Even while training, the thought of what was coming later this week had been at the front of his thoughts.

"Pikachu, can I ask you something?"

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked, caught off guard by the sudden question. He wondered what exactly Ash could have to ask.

Sitting up now, Ash faced his best friend. "It's about Serena," he said with a confused expression. Sighing, Ash decided to let everything out.

"This has only been bothering me for a short time. After thinking about what Astrid said, I realized how much Serena does for us. And well, I really like it. I like the thought of her always around us and everything she does. But, I don't understand why and it's driving me crazy."

"When we were just talking, I was nervous around her. That's never happened for me. I'm just confused over all of this. It's like... I'm excited but also nervous at the same time. I just wish I knew what is happening to me. You know what I mean?"

"Pi... Pikapi," Pikachu responded as he understood exactly. Ash had taken quite the liking to Serena and now had a crush on her, or was in love, Pikachu wasn't sure. However, he was excited at the fact Ash was finally realizing that there was something there between the two of them.

"But, whatever is going on... I like how it feels when she's standing right next to me. Or whenever she smiles. Just those little things make me feel all warm inside," Ash explained as Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder and let out a yawn. "Yeah, we should probably go get some sleep. Thanks for listening to me ramble on."

The duo walked into the elevator to send them to their floor, but for the entire trip those same feelings wouldn't leave Ash alone. But, little did Ash know that what he was feeling would grow as the week advanced.

* * *

 **So, a different chapter, but just a little insight on the title. It is meant to explain everyone's motivation. Ash wants to show Qawi what it means to really be strong, Tierno wants to win because of what happened to his friends, Qawi's past explains why he wants to win, and Serena wants to beat Miette for Ash.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and how I can improve the story.**


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